BOUGHT/THOUGHT for September 19, 2007

[RockSP]

Holy ****, Moonknight and Trials of Shazam came out this week.

Moonknight, I had no ****ing clue what was going on. It seems like its been 4+ months since the last issue came out, and this one is riddled with flashbacks that would of made sense three months ago.

Moon Knight is so far behind Cap is still alive

 

[GNR]

Cap #30 - Very fast read,wish I hadn't read the previews.So the

Spoiler

"you take my breath" line was Cap realizing Sharon did it?I hope so since that was pretty cheesy sounding way back in #25.

Everything is really hitting the fan and I'm glad to see Iron Man finally suit up in this.

Thor #1-3 - Very satisfied with adding this title to my list.I've heard complaints of not alot happening,I even groaned myself after skimming #1 way back when,but this is such a good book.Thor has a real commanding presence,just as a God should have.The townspeople are written really well and are not overly cliched.Haven't read any new JMS in a while,but I forgot how flawless he is with dialog.The Iron Man fight was effective and Thor's speech after the ownage was just perfect.The last page of #3 just spoke volumes.I hope JMS and Coipel stay on for a long time,lots of potential here.Any word on the length of their run?

WWH #4 - Absolutely mindblowing.I feel very bad for the Illuminati at this point.JRJR outdoes himself and the final pages with Reed about to deliver the death blow leading to Hulk's thumbs down melted my face.The solicits couldn't have been more spot on,everyone does go too far and I felt it every step of the way. 10/10

DD #100 - The different artists were the main draw here.Lots of great moments,Murdock Sr.getting the brains blown out,Matt dreaming up Karen,and Matt going nuts on the cop.Djurkevic's premier interiors looked gorgeous,JRJR Sr. and Colan's pages were even better. 10/10

Iron Man #15-18,21 - The Knaufs' writing here is very mature and they get a real grasp of what Tony has on his plate at this point and how he manages it all.De La Torre's art really sets the mood,just like Deodato's blackened pages in Thunderbolts.I had dropped this book in the middle of Execute Program,but decided to go back and pick up all the post CW stuff.I hope the Knaufs stay on for a long time,I understand only one of them is writing The Eternals?Anyways,lots of action,mystery,politics,sci fi tech and espionage madness for any fan. 9/10

Green Lantern #23 - DC's best solo cape book on the stands and one of thee best solos books from either of the big 2.Nothing is even coming close to the cosmic grandeur this book contains. 10/10

JSA #9 - Enjoyed the firehouse scenes the most.Everything else was expected since solicits came out.Cool addition to the team though. 8.5/10

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Did anyone who read the Parallax special understand what the point of it was? I felt so cheated after I closed that thing. Nothing significant happened at all. The only new knowledge I came away from that book with was the fact that Kyle's mother is apparently Candice Bergen.

 

[PhotoJones]

Murphy Brown was a great show.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

So's Boston Legal. But I still don't get that Parallax special.

 

[PhotoJones]

That's what Wikipedia's for, jackass.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Wikipedia's just gonna give me a summary, not any sort of meaning. I feel so robbed. Why hast thou forsaken me, Marz?! WHY!!!

 

[PhotoJones]

You look for meaning in comics? Like...real meaning?

 

[TheCorpulent1]

No, like the meaning of why I wasted $3 on an issue that ended with the same goddamn status quo that it started with.

 

[PhotoJones]

What comic was it, again? Parallax? Parallax has always sucked. Why'd you buy it in the first place?

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Because Parallax is possessing Kyle and I like Kyle. I thought maybe Kyle would break free of Parallax's control in it. Plus, it was written by Ron Marz, who helped make Kyle great in the first place.

 

[PhotoJones]

What happened to Hal Jordan/Parallax?

 

[fifthfiend]

Did anyone who read the Parallax special understand what the point of it was? I felt so cheated after I closed that thing. Nothing significant happened at all. The only new knowledge I came away from that book with was the fact that Kyle's mother is apparently Candice Bergen.

I thought the deal at the end was that Kyle worked out how to get free of Parallax's control. I dunno, it's reasonably significant for one issue of a comic.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

I figured Kyle started the issue feeling powerless, then he fought Parallax in his head, then he wound up ending the issue with some hope that he might kinda sorta be able to possibly maybe break free if he tried really hard. Which I really didn't need a whole issue for.

 

[PhotoJones]

Wait, so Kyle is Parallax, now?

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Yeah, it was revealed in GL: Rebirth that Parallax is not just Hal with the Central Power Battery's energy, it's a demonic avatar of fear shaped like a giant cockroach (although the artist for the Parallax special drew it like a dragon, but whatever). It had latched onto Hal in his grief over the loss of Coast City and corrupted him. He finally purged himself of it in Rebirth and the Guardians resealed it in the Central Power Battery.

Of course it got free again, this time thanks to Sinestro and his Sinestro Corps, who all use yellow rings and pride themselves on their ability to instill great fear. Kyle, who was going by Ion at the time, got captured by the Sinestro Corps and had his Ion powers ripped out of him--revealing, of course, that Ion is actually the avatar of willpower. As if that weren't enough, Ion's a great, big, cuddly space whale who doesn't dominate like Parallax, but rather just supports its host by giving him extra power. Yes, the embodiment of willpower in the universe... is totally passive. Take a minute and absorb that.

Anyway, after Kyle's all weak from having his friendly neighborhood space whale yanked out of him, Sinestro revealed that his mother didn't die of natural causes; an alien Sinestro Corpsman who's basically a sentient virus killed her. Forgetting all about the fact that Kyle, as the only GL who wasn't chosen for his fearlessness and thus had dealt with fear his whole life, had resisted Parallax every single time it tried to possess him, Johns made this realization about his mom's death enough for Parallax to finally infect him. Parallax has been using Kyle's body ever since to kick the GL Corps' collective ass in general and Hal Jordan's tender bottom in particular--which, I have to admit, was actually kind of fun for me to see.

 

[PhotoJones]

So, who made Kyle Parallax? Johns or Marz?

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Johns. Marz just wrote this special. Still, the special sucked and Marz should've done better.

 

[PhotoJones]

What's with Green Lanterns going evil? It was stupid the first time around.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

I actually liked the whole character arc it set Hal down. He had an interesting story going, trying to convert the Spectre from a force for vengeance to a force for redemption through sheer willpower. One of the few interesting Hal stories ever, in fact. But Johns pretty much absolved him of all his sins, put him back in a green jumpsuit with a ring, and gave him back his old cocky personality as if the last couple decades never happened. I flip through GL every once in a while at the shop and I'm still sickened by all of the wasted story potential.

 

[PhotoJones]

DC ruined Hal.

 

[Dread]

I actually liked the whole character arc it set Hal down. He had an interesting story going, trying to convert the Spectre from a force for vengeance to a force for redemption through sheer willpower. One of the few interesting Hal stories ever, in fact. But Johns pretty much absolved him of all his sins, put him back in a green jumpsuit with a ring, and gave him back his old cocky personality as if the last couple decades never happened. I flip through GL every once in a while at the shop and I'm still sickened by all of the wasted story potential.

Perhaps there is a funny sort of metaphor there? Marvel has some characters who overdo their personal faults, while sometimes some in DC work overtime to absolve some characters of their's.

It isn't a Marvel vs. DC rant, because most of the times those are silly. I was just musing out of boredom.

I agree with you on the GL business, although as an outsider who peeks in.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Meh, whatever. As long as DC keeps the Green Lantern Corps comic going strong, I'll be fine. I get all the GLs I need out of that. Guy, Kyle, Kilowog, Salakk, Soranik Natu, and just about everyone else in the GLC comic are far more interesting than Hal and John anyway.

 

[Dread]

I see you also have what is argueably part of JLU's best moment in your avatar. I mean "Super-Punch" is nice but how often do you see Flash take down Lexiac to save the world single-handedly?

 

[TheCorpulent1]

More often in the comics than in JLU, that's for sure. The only thing that kind of sucked about that scene is that it was the first and last time the Flash approached his comic badassity in the cartoons.

Oh yeah, speaking of the Flash, anyone else notice a resemblance between the guys he and his kids are fighting and vaginas with giant eye-clitorises?