Bought/Thought for October 12, 2011 - STARTLING REVELATIONS EDITION

[TheCorpulent1]

I still haven't read most of my comics yet due to work and class, but I'll kick things off with two that gave me big surprises this week.

I picked up X-Men: Regenesis on a lark, since I discovered in the thread for this week's Diamond list that Punisher would've been the only regular Marvel comic I'd be buying otherwise, and that made me feel weird. I kind of wish I hadn't, though, because now I'm pretty sure I'm going to be buying Wolverine and the X-Men as a direct result of this one-shot. The one-shot is a pretty utilitarian affair, with somewhere between a panel and a couple pages dedicated to each of the characters making their choice between Wolverine's new school in Westchester and Cyclops' attempt at the-X-Men-as-superheroes in San Francisco (which is kind of a retread of Whedon's Astonishing X-Men, but whatever). Most surprising is Wolverine's attitude here. Based on what I've seen of Wolverine in the past few years, the thought of his opening a school or opposing killing or even caring whether kids get the chance to be kids struck me as utterly ridiculous. The character had long since lost the depth required to reconcile those stances with his personal behavior as a happy assassin. But whether this is a 180 that comes out of nowhere or something that, as others have pointed out, kinda/sorta stems from various events in Wolverine's comics and Uncanny X-Force, I'm glad for it. This is a Wolverine that I could conceivably see Hank partnering up with for the sake of the school. The appeal to Iceman as a representative of everything Cyclops' X-Men is not was especially well done. I really hope Aaron comes through and delivers on the promise of a more family-oriented atmosphere in WatXM because that's basically what I've been missing from the team since they reorganized into Cyclops' mutant army nonsense.

Equally surprising was my enjoyment of the free Avenging Spider-Man preview. Zeb Wells does a really good job of playing Spider-Man off the Avengers, with Spider-Man cast as something of the slacker amongst the group (even though, as his narration points out, he's quite the opposite). Peter's need to get back to New York City and deal with his own stuff makes him look unprofessional, as if he's trying to cut out after the action's done on an Avengers mission so he can avoid having to deal with the clean-up. It's a scenario that becomes tiring quickly, as we all know from watching Bendis characterize Spider-Man as a total idiot in his various Avengers comics, but for the short burst we get of it here, it's fun. Wells' dialogue is what really sells it--funny without being overbearing or trying too hard. His J. Jonah Jameson is especially hilarious in his few bits. The second half of the preview is basically Spider-Man and Rulk bantering, which is again surprisingly entertaining. I don't really care for either of the characters, but they're fun together, with Peter trying to prove he's a precision weapon to the military-minded Ross, who only sees him as the guy who didn't do s*** against that giant robot the Avengers just fought. And, of course, topping it all off is Joe Madureira's art. Like I said in the ASM thread, however obnoxious Joe Mad's reputation may be, the man's still got it. He's not any quicker, judging from the bi-monthly schedule planned for this series, but he still has exciting, dynamic visuals. His facial expressions are on excellent display here, as he highlights Wells' script with appropriate expressions that are often chuckle-worthy all by themselves. So I've gone ahead and dropped my 4-year crusade against post-"One More Day" Spider-Man comics as of this preview and added Avenging Spider-Man to my list. I'm willing to eat my fair share of crow, but come on, 4 years is pretty much equivalent to "never again" in internet time anyway.

 

[JewishHobbit]

Man... huge week for me. I found $20 on the ground while cleaning up litter at work and decided to splurge a bit. So I bought 12 new comics and one back issue. The back issue was one out of curiosity more than anything and that was "Tomb of Dracula Presents: Throne of Honor." I've liked the whole Vampire army thing going on at Marvel and this issue has been the only thing I've skipped. I figured I'd give it a shot. It honestly wasn't very good, but hey, it was "free" so whatever.

Now on to the list starting with DC:

Batwoman #2 - Just as good as the first issue. The art is beautiful as always but I'll admit that Kate's out of costume appearance, specifically her white appearance, is getting a little annoying. Besides that though the issue was great. The crying ghost chick has me interested and I like the small Batman cameos. It does still read like it should have come out months ago (and it was) but it doesn't fly in the face of the New 52 relaunch either so it's all good.

Batman & Robin #2 - This was just okay for me. I like the idea of Bruce learning to be a father to help "fix" Damian from his programing, but the general plot is just moving too slowly. I love the art and I like Tomasi but I'm really hoping this picks up soon. If I decide to start dropping things this just might get cut based on how little happens in the first two issues. It'll have time to grow legs though, I'll give it that long due to my love of the art team and characters involved.

Green Lantern #2 - This was much better than the first issue in my opinion. This new direction of Sinistro creating a ring with his own ring for Hal is interesting, especially with him using it to basically chain Hal to his side and to be his master and to make him help do his dirty work. So it's now Sinestro and Hal vs the Sinestro Corps. Interesting concept and I'm curious where it goes.

Grifter #2 - This was a simple issue like the first issue but still entertaining. I'm liking this book so far and I think it's growing on me more and more with each issue and the more I think on it. I don't know anything about the original story with him and I'm not looking it up because I don't want to spoil anything incase it's spoilable. The art is good, the writing is good, and the mystery has me intrigued. This is a keeper for the forseeable future.

Fear Itself: Hulk vs Dracula #3 - The only Fear Itself mini that I buy comes to an end. It was a fun read but not that fantastic. Hulk's depowering and defeat felt kinda out of nowhere so I felt that took away from it but it was still a fun mini. I don't necessarilly regret buying it but I am definately disappointed. It could have been amazing but instead it was just good. But at least this mini proves that Dread's theory of "nothing major can happen in comics that aren't the main event or written by the writer of said event." The fact that Hulk breaks out of his Worthy persona in this mini seems pretty big. Though, if I'm remembering it right... isn't he still one of the Worthy at the end approaching the final battle in Fear Itself #6?

New Avengers #17 - This was just alright. The two issues that's so far built up this new Hammer has been slow and it's a little annoying. The biggest thing that I was excited for though was to see Daredevil on the team again (with how great his intro was last issue) but he's mysteriously missing in this issue... along with the Thing. The fight against Ultimo was cool though so at least that's something. And despite what others say, I find it refreshing to see Norman back. I really liked him as a major Avengers foil so it feels right having him pulling strings again.

Black Panther #524 - This was an issue that I didn't plan on buying due to budget issues. I bought the .1 issue a few weeks ago and liked it but didn't plan on continuing. This cover was just so amazing though that it drew my eye and having extra money to spend I took a risk. I loved Lady Bullseye in Daredevil so that was definately an appeal and ultimately the gamble paid off. I liked the plot and I'm definately interested in what happens next. I'm thinking I might continue with this book on an issue by issue basis.

The Spider-Island stuff distracted from the plot though. It wasn't necessary in the slightest and I think the story could have been better if not for it. I'm glad it's only one issue or I'd be less likely to check out the next arc.


X-Men coming up....

 

[JewishHobbit]

Generation Hope #12 - I've been really liking this book lately but this issue fell a little short for me. I'm still thinking on it though and I may ultimately like it more but for now I'm not sure. This deals with the aftermath of X-Men Schism where we see where everyone's heads are at. Gabrial is afraid that he's aging to death and wants to live (thus, making out with Pixie despite dating Hope). Laurie is getting more aggressive and Hope's afraid of losing some sort of control. Teon is Teon and Kenji is Kenji. It's interesting though that some of the stranger characterisations is possibly explained in the end and that's that it seems the Dark Phoenix is within Hope and that Cyclops and Kitty have recongized this. She holds a small link of control on the other members of the team and some of them are realizing it while others aren't. I'm curious where this plot goes... especially with Gillen leaving the book soon. The overall plot of Hope Summers will be coming to a conclusion in 2012 so I'm assuming this is building to that. We'll see.

Oh, and positives are that Pixie officially joins the team and that Rickslide questions Laurie's nakedness and is a fan

X-Men Regenesis #1 - This was a good book though what got me most excited was the very last page post-story showing who's on Wolverine's side. Both Husk AND Chamber are on Wolverine's side. This made the Generation X fan in me cheer! I don't know what book Chamber's going to be in but I'm sold!

As for the story itself it just kinda shows how people split up, which we knew from spoilers already. The only question was Cannonball, Husk, and the New X-Men kids. We assumed Husk was with Wolverine due to some covers but with both of them going over there that got me excited. We also get an idea of how the students split. It seems that Wolverine's got Hellion, Anole, Rockslide, Dust, Mercury, Glob Herman, Bling, Indra, and Blindfold. Cyclops seems to have the Cuckoos, Prodigy, Pixie, Surge, Gentle, and Hisako. I love this generation of students so I'm hoping they get a chance to really shine in this new status quo. It seems that Dazzler's book (Legacy I think) is going to show them quite a bit under her leadership. And of course, Wolverine's book should give them focus.

All in all though, good issue. I liked it.

Uncanny X-Force #16 - So maybe my memory isn't clear here but when did Archangel recruit the AoA versions of Iceman and Blob to join his side? It seems a little out of character for the AoA Bobby to go twisted like this without build up but maybe that's just me. And IS this the AoA Blob or a repowered 616 Blob? I will say this though... the AoA Iceman was awesome!

Those questions aside this was a great issue. We see the death of the original Famine in the defense of her son. We see Wolverine rejoin in the action. We see Deadpool shine a little. We see Fantomex buckle under the pressure... we see a lot. This is all building to an epic conclusion and I honestly can't wait to read it. It's been said time and again (and not really from me) but this is now the best X-Book on the stands. The building plot is amazing and I can't wait to finish this story out. Remender is doing a great job and I hope he sticks on the book for a long time coming (and when it inevitably ends, pick up a main X-Men book).

Daken: Dark Wolverine #15 - This book is just kinda hitting a plateau for me. It started out great and then got boring then it got better and now it's just kinda there. If not for the Runaways comign in next issue I'd likely just drop the book but I'm at least giving it until the end of their arc. Williams is writing a decent Daken and telling an alright story but it just isn't resignating with me. The Heat plot is boring and the Claws Killer plot has gone on too long for me to give a crap about. I've liked the Taskmaster and Moon Knight guest stars and am looking forward to the Runaways but I just want the main plot to end and to move on to something else. It's kinda dragging now.

X-Men Legacy #257 - And speaking of dragging... this story is still going and still isn't finished. I'm not really interesting in the story and I"m ready for it to wrap up. Just get everyone hope and call it done. It's not a bad story, just an uninteresting one.


Best and Worst of the Week

Best - Uncanny X-Force: There's so much going on in this book and every aspect of it is interesting. I find myself looking forward to this book more than any other that I read and every issue delivers. This issue is no exception. The Dark Angel Saga is among the all time great X-Men Sagas for me and you don't even have to read any tie-ins or crossovers to get it

Worst - X-Men Legacy: It just bored me. I loved the students run, Ages of X, and the Legion story that came from that, but it's hit a grinding halt with this arc. This issue was boring and this 5 or 6 issue arc could likely have been told in 2 or 3.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Did it take you a while to figure out who Dazzler was? I thought Scott was meeting with Emma, which made their conversation seem very odd to me. It wasn't until Dazzler mentioned the stage that I realized, "Ooooh, that's Dazzler!"

Also, it was kind of sad that Cyclops swayed two people back over to his side by essentially whining. At least Emma called him on it, as opposed to Storm's just looking pensive.

 

[JewishHobbit]

Hah... I actually thought Dazzler was Magma for most of the scene

And yeah... I'm wondering if they're intentionally making it look like Cyclops is on the losing side of this argument. Maybe building up to the family unit again after the 2012 X-Event?

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Could be. I wonder if Cable will somehow be a unifying factor. He's a soldier who still cares about kids, effectively embodying both sides of the argument.

But really, there's no question to me that Cyclops is on the losing side of the argument. His philosophy basically calls for endless escalation. It's unsustainable. They're all gonna wind up hermits locking themselves in their island "sanctuary" because the world is so dangerous to them. The school represents at least an attempt to teach future generations to bring humanity and mutantkind together and eventually stop the fighting.

 

[runawayboulder]

PunisherMAX rocked the mothercluckin house as usual. I think Aaron may be done soon though, he seems to be building towards a finite ending for his run.

This book is f-ing crazy though. He had Punisher shoot a comatose Bullseye dead straight in the middle of his tattoo, killing him off. Kingpin banged Elektra totally unaware she's having a lesbo affair with Vanessa Fisk and they're both playing him to get his guard down while the Punisher is gunning for him. And, oh yeah, at the end of the issue Frank digs up the grave of Richard Fisk who had his throat slit in the first arc.....f-ing NUTS.

Aaron seems to be setting things up so nobody walks away from this, even the Punisher. The only place left for him to go if he kills everybody off is dealing with the MAX version of the Hand. Oh well, it has been an incredible run. I'm going to continue to enjoy every second of it.

 

[kguillou]

Green Lantern #2: I actually really dug this. I felt like this should have been in the first issue. I kind of like this new story direction, Hal's literally at the mercy of Sinestro and it could lead to some interesting story potential. My only complaint....Doug Manhke, I'm sorry but i don't like it. Its just so...plain to me. And some of the facial expressions look really weird, it almost reminds me of Lienil Yu a bit.

 

[PaleRider]

Green Lantern #2 just reenforced why I love Sinestro so much more then Hal

 

[Dread]

A mercifully short week. Let's get on with the spoilers before NYCC day tomorrow.

DREAD'S BOUGHT/THOUGHT FOR 10/12/11:

SUPER DINOSAUR #5: While this latest Robert Kirkman series via his Image Comics imprint, Skybound isn't as behind schedule as his last series alongside artist Jason Howard usually was (ASTOUNDING WOLF-MAN), it still is roughly a month behind schedule. This still remains a series which was created to be a true "all ages" piece in which both adults and their kids could enjoy, and to that end it is living up to that. It also is a series which invokes the spirit of many Saturday morning cartoons, such as the desire to sell more toys with endless new armor and weapon attachments. In this issue, the titular hero and Derek Dynamo climb into some giant mech suits to defend their home from the giant Mega-Raptor unleashed upon them by their arch nemesis, Max Maximus. While the two fight the giant monster, Maximus himself steals into their lab and does battle with Derek's dad, Dr. Dynamo. The villain was deliberately led there by Erica, one of two daughters of the Dyanamo's new technicians who was homesick. This issue has a lot of action without relying on gore, which is a change of pace from Kirkman's other comic series. Erin (Erica's sister) and the robot Wheels get a moment to shine and Erica's actions actually have a positive boon. There is a dark twist at the end of this issue, which completes the first arc; Kirkman ending an initial arc with a dark twist has become routine, but effective. Another subplot arises in that Erin is giving Derek more attention, which makes Super-Dino jealous since they're best friends. While he's in the title, Super-Dinosaur himself is really Derek's sidekick and supporting character, so a subplot around him would be nice. While not as good as ASTOUNDING WOLF-MAN - at least to this adult reader - it is more entertaining than Robert Kirkman's launch of HAUNT with McFarlane Studios. This is an acquired taste; readers who don't have much of an inner child left, or don't share Kirkman's fetish for dinosaurs, may be turned off here. Others may be pleased to find a "kiddie comic" which has enough action and twists to please older audiences too. As stated before and elsewhere, this is a franchise which could merrily exist as an animated cable TV series - as could Jay Faerber's DYNAMO 5 (no relation).

ALPHA FLIGHT #5: While the trade dress on the cover claims this is "5 of 8" of a "Limited Series", Marvel have retroactively made this an ongoing series due to the unexpected sales debut for the first issue of almost 47,000 copies. However, last month's third issue sold below 25,000 and it could be in cancelation range by issue eight or nine anyway. It would be a tad embarrassing if Marvel extended what was a perfectly lengthy limited series by only one or two issues due to misplaced optimism. This is also the first issue which does not have a FEAR ITSELF crossover banner on the cover, although in fairness that "event" had little to do with the actual story within. Writers Fred Van Lente and Greg Pak have essentially written Canada's version of DARK REIGN from 2009-2010; nasty villains have taken over the government and made the heroes into legal outlaws, forcing the heroes to watch an underground battle of wits and public opinion. The Unity Party and the arch nemesis of Alpha Flight, the "Master Of The World" (a caveman enhanced ages ago by alien science) have brainwashed Vindicator and made some villains into heroes. To this end, Alpha Flight are waging an underground campaign, having freed political prisoners from a labor camp last week as well as utilizing captured technology there - some of which being Mac Hudson/Guardian's designs. Puck seems to have past connections to the underworld himself, as the longtime mercenary trainer Taskmaster proves to be one of his old buddies. This allows Van Lente to return to writing Taskmaster for the first time since the end of the TASKMASTER mini series, and continuity with it is naturally maintained. Snowbird gets a bit more to do here as Aurora's multiple personality issues prove to be a key subplot, and the re-created Marrina is full of snark. Artist Dale Eaglesham is also on rare form here, and his rendition of Taskmaster's costume is glorious. The plot in general does a good job of re-creating the "magic" behind the launch of ALPHA FLIGHT in the 80's as well as unite all of the old members against their greatest enemies. Alpha Flight as underdogs is a somewhat original plot given Canada's usual political stability in Marvel, and some timely "corrupt banker" sound-bites are used here. On the downside, it is a shame that Heather Hudson/Vindicator has been made into a brainwashed shill to allow her husband to shine as leader in a role that was usually hers, and fans of that TASKMASTER series may remain puzzled as to why Taskmaster can't remember his wife, but remembers he's pals with a super-powered midget. In fairness, perhaps that last caveat answers itself. Overall, this has been a terrific relaunch of an long dormant franchise, and however many extra issues of this that Van Lente and Pak will get from the editorial shift will be good ones.

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #671: SPIDER-ISLAND, the "mini" crossover event that is focused in AMAZING SPIDER-MAN and has spilled into other ongoing titles such as VENOM (the spin-off), HERC, and even BLACK PANTHER has reached its fifth chapter, or sixth if you count the prelude issue. There are two issues yet to come which means the story is entering its third act and hitting high gear, and writer Dan Slott does not disappoint here. As the cover indicates - as drawn by regular interior artist Humbert Ramos - Mary Jane Watson is now the latest Manhattan citizen who has gained "spider-powers" during this crisis. Fortunately for her, it is still in "stage one" where the infection merely provides super-powers; in later stages, mutations include extra arms or full transformation into spider-monsters. Amusingly, MJ is wearing more clothes in interior art than on the cover (barely), which may be a symbol of the "skin sells" debate. Meanwhile, Spider-Man has to contend with J.J. - the ravenous "Spider-Mayor" - as well as assist the rest of his Avengers and Future Foundation allies at Horizon Labs in engineering a cure for the infestation via Anti-Venom/Eddie Brock's enhanced antibodies. Doing so will strip Brock of his super powers, which is a sacrifice he appears willing to perform. Neither the Jackal or the Queen are thrilled to potentially lose their "Spider-Island", so they send the monstrous Tarantula - formerly the clone of Spider-Man from the 90's, Kaine - to destroy the cure once and for all.

The pace of this issue moves along very quickly, with Spider-Man himself sometimes seeming second fiddle towards showcasing other scenes with other characters, such as MJ or the heroes at Horizon Labs. This could be a bad thing, but as the entire premise of this "BIG TIME" launch from November was to showcase how Spider-Man has become the center of the Marvel Universe via his connections to other heroes; thus, it makes sense. Besides, the 14 part MAXIMUM CARNAGE story from the 90's which crossed over through all four of Spidey's titles at the time also included a slew of other superheroes, such as Capt. America, Firestar, Cloak, Dagger, Black Cat and Iron Fist; some of which are naturally involved here. The subplot of the loss of Spider-Man's "spider-sense" ability from the second arc of Slott's BIG TIME run last year becomes a key plot mechanic here, and the identity of the mysterious "Number Six" scientist at Horizon is revealed as one of Spidey's long time foes turned anti-hero, Morbius the Living Vampire. It makes a lot of sense since Slott has remembered that Morbius is more than a Comics Code friendly vampire, but was actually a scientist as well. The issue's climatic battle between Spider-Man and Tarantula/Kaine is especially thrilling, since the states have been set so high. A final showdown against the Queen is firmly established.

There are some quibbles. While Ramos' artwork on the whole is strong - and backed up by Edgar Delgado's colors and two inkers - there are panels or bits which show some sign of rush. Julia Carpenter - the new Madam Web - butts into the story at a critical moment in a scene in which she is supposed to once again lecture some characters about visions of doom in the future, although the scene unintentionally reveals that everything would have been sorted out better had she merely been less vague about relating her earlier visions to Spider-Man and Shang Chi. And while a segment where MJ gets to fight off attackers with super powers is a hoot, her lines of dialogue seem to neglect some key prior stories. MJ seems to imply that this is the first time she's been able to save herself from a super-villain attack, which isn't terribly true. A key subplot which disproves it is the Jonathan Ceaser subplot in ASM from 1988-1990 in which a wealthy stalker went after her back when she was a TV soap actress to the point that he once hired the mercenaries Styx and Stone to help him kidnap him. Not only did MJ actually defend herself against the mercenaries, she was ultimately the one who defeated Ceaser, a threat who Peter Parker was oblivious to. Alistaire Smythe, who is now Spider-Slayer and featured in this issue, was another villain who ran afoul of MJ (who once posed as Spider-Man herself). When she has been imperiled by some of Spidey's past foes by virtue of hanging around his world as his (then) wife, MJ often did more than wail in the background. At the very least, MJ having superpowers is a new twist, especially since the identity of Jackpot in 2008 was botched; she was implied to be MJ but was instead some "character out of nowhere". The Jackal also is in fear of being demoted to a henchman himself, which is a bit disappointing; although amping up a newer (2004 era) creation like the Queen is a wise idea. Spider-Man has long been shy of female adversaries, and Queen is filling that gap in spades now.

This issue has several key strengths. Unlike FEAR ITSELF, SPIDER-ISLAND by writer Dan Slott is an "event" that lives up to the hype and also delivers as a narrative. It advances subplots from earlier stories and sets up new ones. It also is providing one heck of an adventure for it's hero, in which he has to utilize all of his old tricks as well as new ones (such as kung-fu lessons) to even have a hope of triumph. AMAZING SPIDER-MAN has had quite a few massive, over the top crossover stories in recent years, but this one is the one which is succeeding the best of them. The dilemma in that will be what Slott has in store for an encore, but that's a riddle for the winter. Two weeks until the next issue can't pass fast enough!

It will be interesting if Spidey is more willing to battle alongside MJ than he was Carlie.

FF #10: At this point, writer Jonathan Hickman has been writing this franchise – whether titled FANASTIC FOUR or FF or soon to be both at once – for two years now. If it feels longer, it is because Marvel has double-shipped issues a few times, and because Hickman takes a very long time to get where he is going. His arc rarely actually end, merely weave into the next arc so organically that it seems like no story ever ends. This is akin to life, but for serial fiction can be awesome or annoying depending on one’s end of the spectrum. The fact that Hickman often takes too long with story mechanics – two entire issues to explain how Black Bolt comes back to life – alongside his often neglect of any character who isn’t Reed Richards has put this book on an “issue by issue” basis for me, where I am one terrible issue away from walking. Fortunately, FF #9’s action packed scene was a nice rebound, and this one succeeds as well. Part of that is because it works as a character piece, and the other part is due to Barry Kitson on fill in art. Steve Epting is supposed to be the “regular” issue, although he’s seemed to have missed about 40% of the series since the title changed to FF in March. Kitson has filled in for Epting on this title before, and I happen to enjoy his pencils more – he’s been missed since his work on THE ORDER years ago. Paul Mounts remains as the regular colorist.

To a degree, this is another issue which focuses on moving around some pieces on a chess board in another 20 page installment. Not a whole lot happens besides the fact that Mr. Fantastic, Spider-Man, and Nathanial Richards return from their meeting with the new Inhuman empire and all wind up in plot convenient places. They literally walk through a magic door called Eldrac that places someone “where they need to be”, i.e. where the plot wants them for future issues. In fairness, Chris Claremont did the same thing with his “Siege Perilous” during his run on UNCANNY X-MEN in the 1980’s. To this end, Nathanial winds up with the lone “Evil Reed” who survived in Latveria, where he has Dr. Doom as a captive. Spider-Man winds up in Avengers Mansion to tell Thing to head back home to the Baxtor Building. And Mr. Fantastic winds up in said Baxtor Building. The Kree – now led by Ronan and Crystal – head back to the moon and prepare for ominous things.

What works is a strong story beat in which Reed returns home because he basically wanted to be with his wife Susan for support, because despite how emotionally detached he often is, he needs her support. It’s a simple story beat, but one that hasn’t come up very often in this run, so it seems more fresh than it is. It establishes, or re-establishes, that Sue is there to ground Reed with her own initiative when he gets too lost in his own head. After all, Reed is such a “genius” that he needs to be reminded of things such as inviting all of his worst enemies in a room together being a bad idea. The little moment between Thing and Spider-Man is fun.
For some, two good scenes in one comic (with great art) may not be enough for $3, but for the moment, for me, it is okay. I am steadily growing weary with this title, but for the moment, it was a solid read.

 

[Themanofbat]

Hey Dread...

I tought you were going to pick up Legion of Monsters....

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Oh yeah, I bought that. Chalk it up to my weird feeling at only having 1 Marvel comic again. Haven't read it yet, though. I'm taking forever to read my comics this week.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

So I finally got around to reading Legion of Monsters and was thoroughly shocked to find that it was actually my favorite comic of the week. Which is itself ironic because I just dropped Frankenstein, Agent of SHADE even though it had basically the same premise--Universal's movie monsters team up to fight evil. But where Frankenstein throws in a few jokes but otherwise takes itself seriously, LoM is just balls-to-the-wall insane. (It opens with Elsa Bloodstone dancing to cheesy music in an effort to lure a monster who's been eating teenagers her way.) Where Frankenstein contrives some random science angle to explain why these new characters happen to look just like the old Universal monsters, LoM simply brings together existing characters who fit those niches--Morbius, the Living Mummy, Jack Russell, and Manphibian. Where Frakenstein's humor is limited to a couple of sight gags like Father Time being reincarnated as a little girl, LoM has crisp, chuckle-worthy dialogue throughout (my favorite line being Morbius' telling Manphibian that when he uses S words, it makes Morbius want to kill himself ). The whole premise of Legion of Monsters is a lot more fun too. Frankenstein casts the monsters as some kind of random-ass secret agents for no discernible reason, whereas LoM casts them as the leaders and police force of Monster Metropolis, an entire underground city of monsters. The threat comes in the form of some mysterious, apparently magical force that is robbing the monsters of their humanity, turning them into the stereotypical mindless, rampaging monsters of B-movies and, well, sci fi comics. There's something nicely poetic about that. Elsa Bloodstone provides the outsider perspective, acting as something of a straight man to highlight how utterly weird and illogical a society of monsters is. "I've no quarrel with you lot," she says upon being greeted by Morbius in Monster Metropolis. "Apart from a lifelong belief that you're all inherently evil and should very much die in a fire." Juan Doe's art is lovely as well, and it suits the subject matter perfectly. In short, this is the best random comic I picked up on a lark in a very, very long time.

 

[Themanofbat]

I picked it up as well... but I'm going to read all 4 issues in one sitting...

Glad to hear that you liked it...

 

[TheCorpulent1]

It was awesomesauce on toast.