BOUGHT/THOUGHT for Wednesday, April 18th.

[Dread]

Agree on both counts.

See? Not all my posts are long.

 

[Dread]

Hey guys I found Dread's review templates. Check it!


52 Review Template

1. Mention how I don't pay attention to DC
2. Whine about the Great Ten's names.
3. Whine about story distribution, even though one story is clearly more pivotal than others, thus deserving more pages
4. (Optional) Talk about the book shipping on time for its duration
5. MOST IMPORTANTLY, Never be too positive. After all, it's not a throwback to the silver age. Remember how much you love those, self. And remember how good-looking and intelligent you are. Now let's get rambly!

One problem; I'd never call myself good looking.

Besides, I actually liked 52 WEEK #50. It was the best one in at least a month and perhaps almost two.

Seriously, would you rather read reviews of mine where I gush about how much I love a book, like SPIRIT or INVINCIBLE, or would you rather read stuff like 52 where you get to use it as reply fodder? Be honest. Positive posts are boring. DYNAMO 5 has an entire topic in MISC COMICS, but because it is all positive, NO ONE wants to talk about it. Nobody. Negativity is the lifeblood of message boards.

 

[PhotoJones]

the killer #1-2 - i read a couple reviews about this, and both were very positive. i managed to snag both issues for under $9 including shipping on ebay and they came today.

i'm not surprised that this is as good as it is. archaia studios press (mouse guard) seems to be able to do no wrong with me. it's basically a pretty straightfoward story about a hitman who, while waiting in a apartment for his next hit to show up across the street, recounts his past hits and his path of becoming a professional killer. by the end of the second issue, his hit has shown up, and he completes his task. however after being couped up in the apartment for 2 weeks, he's a little sloppy and he's spotted leaving in a taxi. the bodyguard/personal cop of the hit follows him to the airport and boards the same plane in pursuit. that's how it ends.

the story is solid, but i think the real draw for me is the artwork. it's flat out amazing; so detailed and with an animated style. the colors are amazing, and really add to the tone, mood and atmosphere of the book. you can almost smell paris in the pages.

i hear issue #3 is on the stands right now, but i haven't been able to find at my lcs, or on ebay yet. this book obviously has a tiny print run, but if you can find it (my shop a few copies of #2) you should give it a look.

 

[Frico]

Wait a sec, I know something that Dread doesn't? Ahem, lemme take a breather here....Wow, is this what it really feels like? Welp, **** yeah


Anyhoo, back to my point, Hudlin ain't the one writing MK

 

[Dread]

Wait a sec, I know something that Dread doesn't? Ahem, lemme take a breather here....Wow, is this what it really feels like? Welp, **** yeah


Anyhoo, back to my point, Hudlin ain't the one writing MK

I know, it's Huston. For some ungodly reason I switched names with my fast typing. A horrible insult to Mr. Huston, and I shall edit immediately.

Thanks.

 

[Frico]

I know, it's Huston. For some ungodly reason I switched names with my fast typing. A horrible insult to Mr. Huston, and I shall edit immediately.

Thanks.

No problemo

Liked your review on it either way, btw.

 

[Dread]

No problemo

Liked your review on it either way, btw.

Thanks. I think the new artist is great, and if he can maintain a monthly deadline, even better (Finch's issues commonly were 1-2 weeks later than expected).

 

[Frico]

Thanks. I think the new artist is great, and if he can maintain a monthly deadline, even better (Finch's issues commonly were 1-2 weeks later than expected).

Yeah, I'm still gonna check it out. Liked Finch's work an' all, but this new guy sure looks like he knows what he's doing

How would you rate it on a 1 to 10 scale?

 

[Dread]

Yeah, I'm still gonna check it out. Liked Finch's work an' all, but this new guy sure looks like he knows what he's doing

How would you rate it on a 1 to 10 scale?

I don't do number scales, but probably a 7.5/10. The climax I expect to be higher; Huston's been pretty decent with those so far.

 

[Frico]

Meant the new guy's art

 

[Dread]

Meant the new guy's art

Oh. Probably 8.5/10. It fits the tone while still not being Finch's (i.e. an imitation). Some moments looked stiff but really couldn't complain. I could get used to him as the main artist big time.

 

[PhotoJones]

dmz #18 - apparently only myself and four other people pick this book up, or so i learned today on these boards. at any rate, i'm glad i do, because it's my second favorite book on the stands (my first being invincible).

this issue, all praise goes to the artists. first of all, i want to comment that i think burchielli's the perfect artist for this series. he's very detailed, and his storytelling is remarkable. sometimes, though, it's fun to mix it up a bit, and brian wood seems to know just the people to mix it up with. the last guest artist was kristian donaldson (who returns in an upcoming issue). this time around, we get nathan fox. he handles the meat of the story, involving the past tale of the "day 204 massacre". this story arc deals with that day, but each issue is from a different person's perspective; kinda like rashamon. i also want to mention that jeromy cox's colors are phemonenal. he's easily one of the best in the biz.

i don't want to go into details for fear of spoiling it for the other four people who pick this title up, but i did want to post this semi-review for folks that might have been thinking of picking this up. it's the start of the new arc, and it's a good jumping on point.

 

[Frico]

Oh. Probably 8.5/10. It fits the tone while still not being Finch's (i.e. an imitation). Some moments looked stiff but really couldn't complain. I could get used to him as the main artist big time.

Sweetness

Thanks man.

 

[GNR]

dmz #18 - apparently only myself and four other people pick this book up, or so i learned today on these boards. at any rate, i'm glad i do, because it's my second favorite book on the stands (my first being invincible).

this issue, all praise goes to the artists. first of all, i want to comment that i think burchielli's the perfect artist for this series. he's very detailed, and his storytelling is remarkable. sometimes, though, it's fun to mix it up a bit, and brian wood seems to know just the people to mix it up with. the last guest artist was kristian donaldson (who returns in an upcoming issue). this time around, we get nathan fox. he handles the meat of the story, involving the past tale of the "day 204 massacre". this story arc deals with that day, but each issue is from a different person's perspective; kinda like rashamon. i also want to mention that jeromy cox's colors are phemonenal. he's easily one of the best in the biz.

i don't want to go into details for fear of spoiling it for the other four people who pick this title up, but i did want to post this semi-review for folks that might have been thinking of picking this up. it's the start of the new arc, and it's a good jumping on point.

I started this book with #1 to around #6.Dropped it after chopping off alot of my list.

Is Burchielli still regular artist?I found his work on the city scapes and dingy streets to be amazing.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Mighty Avengers #1 and 2: After enjoying New Avengers last week, I decided to give Mighty Avengers a try. I was kind of bummed that I would be jumping on at #2, but lo and behold, Marvel had a second print of #1 on the stands, too. I felt bad about validating Marvel's willy-nilly reprinting mantra, but I picked up a copy of #1 as well. MA was entertaining. Irritating in some respects--particularly Bendis' dialog, which I'd gotten really tired of by the time I quit USM and which he apparently hasn't changed in all that time, except for adding thought bubbles. The thought bubbles were occasionally funny, but I didn't really think they added anything to the comic. Mostly, they just served to make Bendis' back-and-forth quipping tirades even longer and more irritating for me.

But, aside from the dialog and Cho's art (I can't stand Cho's art, or that of most other cheesecake artists, for that matter), the issues were pretty good. I like New Avengers more, but Mighty Avengers was more fun. Several of the members seem a bit more vicious than I remember them, with Wonder Man literally tearing the Mole Man's creatures apart right alongside Ares, but that seems to be the norm for Bendis. I'd be surprised if he brought Hawkeye back and didn't have him shooting arrows through people's faces at this point. I'm still not a fan of Iron Man and Ms. Marvel's stance that there needs to be someone on the team who's "willing to do the things the rest of them won't"--it still strikes me as the easy way out and the mark of a lazy leader--but I can certainly understand Ms. Marvel agreement with it a hell of a lot more than I could Cap's. She is ex-military, after all.

I did like a lot of the team selection stuff. I loved how Iron Man and Ms. Marvel categorized potential members by Avengers staples. "We need a Thor," etc. Ares was never a Thor-level powerhouse, but if Bendis starts writing him at that level now, I actually wouldn't mind. It always struck me as odd how utterly pathetic Marvel's version of the God of War was. The fact that Ultron's Thor comment drove Ares into a full-fledged rage was pretty funny. Ares has inferiority issues. The only thing I don't like about Ares at the moment is his costume--specifically, the goofy-looking, cartoonish skull on his chestplate. He's the God of War. He couldn't come up with something a little more fearsome than a painted-on rip-off of the Punisher's logo? After Ultron made him lose the chestplate, he looked much better. Put his helmet back on for the mohawk imagery and just leave him bare-chested, I say. Unlike Thor, he's actually immortal, so it's not like the armor's protecting him from anything his skin couldn't.

The Ultron story is kind of goofy but also kind of fun. Why Ultron is a woman all of a sudden is beyond me, but I imagine Bendis'll explain that in the next issue, if #2's ending is any indication. Mostly, I think it was just to give Cho an excuse to draw a naked chick without it really being a naked chick. Kind of a sad and transparent ploy, but I guess it works for a crappy artist like Cho. I hope Cho doesn't stick around for too long.

Anyway, my stream of consciousness has wandered and I don't really have anything left to say. I liked Mighty Avengers. There are elements that could use some improvement, but overall it was fun. I'll keep reading it until Bendis' dialog or Cho's art annoy me too much. Whichever comes first.

 

[PhotoJones]

I started this book with #1 to around #6.Dropped it after chopping off alot of my list.

Is Burchielli still regular artist?I found his work on the city scapes and dingy streets to be amazing.

he's still the regular artist. i read an interview with him on newsarama, and it doesn't sound like he's going anywhere for a while (which is good).

just out of curiosity, what books did you keep picking up while dropping dmz?

 

[Kevin]

Agree on both counts.

See? Not all my posts are long.

...Okay, I loled. (Pathetic)

 

[Kevin]

Mighty Avengers #1 and 2: After enjoying New Avengers last week, I decided to give Mighty Avengers a try. I was kind of bummed that I would be jumping on at #2, but lo and behold, Marvel had a second print of #1 on the stands, too. I felt bad about validating Marvel's willy-nilly reprinting mantra, but I picked up a copy of #1 as well. MA was entertaining. Irritating in some respects--particularly Bendis' dialog, which I'd gotten really tired of by the time I quit USM and which he apparently hasn't changed in all that time, except for adding thought bubbles. The thought bubbles were occasionally funny, but I didn't really think they added anything to the comic. Mostly, they just served to make Bendis' back-and-forth quipping tirades even longer and more irritating for me.

But, aside from the dialog and Cho's art (I can't stand Cho's art, or that of most other cheesecake artists, for that matter), the issues were pretty good. I like New Avengers more, but Mighty Avengers was more fun. Several of the members seem a bit more vicious than I remember them, with Wonder Man literally tearing the Mole Man's creatures apart right alongside Ares, but that seems to be the norm for Bendis. I'd be surprised if he brought Hawkeye back and didn't have him shooting arrows through people's faces at this point. I'm still not a fan of Iron Man and Ms. Marvel's stance that there needs to be someone on the team who's "willing to do the things the rest of them won't"--it still strikes me as the easy way out and the mark of a lazy leader--but I can certainly understand Ms. Marvel agreement with it a hell of a lot more than I could Cap's. She is ex-military, after all.

I did like a lot of the team selection stuff. I loved how Iron Man and Ms. Marvel categorized potential members by Avengers staples. "We need a Thor," etc. Ares was never a Thor-level powerhouse, but if Bendis starts writing him at that level now, I actually wouldn't mind. It always struck me as odd how utterly pathetic Marvel's version of the God of War was. The fact that Ultron's Thor comment drove Ares into a full-fledged rage was pretty funny. Ares has inferiority issues. The only thing I don't like about Ares at the moment is his costume--specifically, the goofy-looking, cartoonish skull on his chestplate. He's the God of War. He couldn't come up with something a little more fearsome than a painted-on rip-off of the Punisher's logo? After Ultron made him lose the chestplate, he looked much better. Put his helmet back on for the mohawk imagery and just leave him bare-chested, I say. Unlike Thor, he's actually immortal, so it's not like the armor's protecting him from anything his skin couldn't.

The Ultron story is kind of goofy but also kind of fun. Why Ultron is a woman all of a sudden is beyond me, but I imagine Bendis'll explain that in the next issue, if #2's ending is any indication. Mostly, I think it was just to give Cho an excuse to draw a naked chick without it really being a naked chick. Kind of a sad and transparent ploy, but I guess it works for a crappy artist like Cho. I hope Cho doesn't stick around for too long.

Anyway, my stream of consciousness has wandered and I don't really have anything left to say. I liked Mighty Avengers. There are elements that could use some improvement, but overall it was fun. I'll keep reading it until Bendis' dialog or Cho's art annoy me too much. Whichever comes first.

Welcome to the Darksidet:... or Bendiside...?

 

[BrianWilly]

52 Week 50
Excellent issue. Really delivered.

It continually fills me with indescribable nerd rage as to how the Marvel family could be so well-portrayed here and in other incarnations by other writers by in the Trials of Shazam -- which is supposed to be the actual, current continuity Marvels -- we're just all constantly wincing at the big and small..."updates" Winick has been giving. Billy, here, is written exactly how he should be written as the actual caretaker of the Rock; humble and attentive while still not understanding all the rules there are to understand, and still prepared to git down with his bad self if he needed to.

The actual fight of course was excellently-written and real purty to look at. Great setup, ensuing mayhem, and a conclusion/payoff that doesn't feel cheap or slapdash in the least. All characters are written incredibly suitably and in-character and well, which is so nice for an event. Of course the Chinese leaders would be prideful like this. Of Course the JSA would react like that. Of course Atom Smasher would do what he does at the end. Nothing gratuitously shocking happens, and sometimes that's a nice thing. Characters can act like themselves and not be shocking and still be enjoyable.

Well, actually, I expected Infinity, Inc to actually be of use and pull through at the last second or something. I totally didn't expect them to run like abject 'tards.

Black Adam does feel really, really overpowered here, though. I mean, come on...there were people in that lil' army who should be more than a match for him. Three Green Lanterns, Power Girl, and Martian Manhunter dogpile the guy and he just...what, explodes them off? CUZ LULZ HES FILLED WITH RAGE LIKE TEH HULK or something. It's really inconsistent with the ways he's been portrayed in the past, and it kinda threw out my hopes about how the whole of WW3 wouldn't just literally be Black Adam vs the world and somehow pwning everyone...y'know, somehow. With his rage or something.

One good thing about it, though, is that now we've finally gotten definitive, absolute proof of the fact that ordinary lightning would not transform the Marvels and that it needs to be The magic lightning. This has been a lasting bugging thing about the mythos about a while now, and here it's finally cleared up. It's also a big ol' retcon since ordinary lightning has transformed the Marvels before but, hey, who's counting.

(9.7 out of 10)


World War III 1-4
It started off really, really good. J'onn J'onnz in guise as a lil' bitty girl and then smacking the mofo with that girder. Best way to start an issue, evar. It's funny; I was just saying in another thread how, if you're being mentally attacked, all you should do is to have strong willpower and it just seems to arbitrarily work sometimes for no reason at all. Martian Manhunter, who once subdued the entire Justice League and caused mass hysteria and psyche inversions simultaneously around the world and has looked into the minds of alien wargod doomsday machines, tries to control Black Adam's mind and has no choice but to go batsht emotar for the subsequent three issues? Okaaay then. See above re: overpowered Black Adam.

So anyway, the first book was really good...it set up the natural larger implications of Black Adam on the warpath very naturally through the voice of J'onn, all the while checking back and forth with various DC characters and letting us know just what they were doing with themselves in this situation. In a way, this is sort of what 52 was supposed to be about in its original premise, before it split off into singular stories about singular characters.

Aaaaaand then we get to the next issue...and the next...and the next...which ends up being the EXACT SAME THING. And that's not a good thing.

Don't get me wrong, I really liked the idea of these tie-ins. They do reinforce the main story in a lot of logical, sensible ways all the while "correcting" some of the more...unfortunate...by-products of OYL. The biggest problem, though, is the length of this. The fat. Four issues of the same thing with basically the same setup telling the exact same events (heroes try to stop Adam, fail. Loss of limbs. OYL mistakes. Manhunter mopes like a baby. Rinse and repeat) which could have frankly been cut down to two issues or so just by trimming that damned, abject excess Manhunter emo moping junk. Sweet baby Buffy, was that junk useless. A bunch of tomfoolery re: "Are humans good or evil? Why are they bad? Why are they good? Why do they live and die and love and hate and yada yada poopyemo." The actual events of what people did during this war were so, so much more interesting. And while there was enough of the actual events, there was also too much of the excess emofat which drags it all down.

And, once again, my continuity-****edom rears its fugly head...why is Aquaman still looking and seeming normal, here, when a month ago in 52 he was already looking like a hobo and mumbling about junk? What is this, a moment of lucidity or something?

And what is this with two Supergirls? AS IF ONE WASN'T ENOUGH TO HURT US.

(6.6 out of 10)


Might Avengers #2
I have to sort of question whether Bendis really deserves being known as a relatively brisk, on-time writer when he doesn't actually write anything happening. Seri-fcking-ously. This issue starts out with the Avengers staring confusedly at Ultron...and the issue ends with the Avengers staring confusedly at Ultron. It might have started raining sometime in between, I dunno.

And was it just me, or does Ares -- who was written with the utmost GerardButleresque badassery in his own mini -- comes across as an abject, unlikeable thug here?

The stuff with She-Ultron being something of a clone/model of Jan is pretty interesting, though; I totally didn't expect it, though it makes a kind of of DUH! sense in retrospect. We'll see where this path leads, though I'm already pretty sure that this path leads to general Pym-bashage. I should be annoyed at that but, oh, I just can't muster any genuine emotions concerning that wifebeater LOL I'm so awesome.

(6.2 out of 10)


Justice League of America #8
It's a bit funny that, even though the League is completely together, Meltzer is still relying and multiple narratives to convey his...narrative. In fact, the first time that the entire League is together, it almost feels a bit awkward.

Batman "beating" Karate Kid felt really, really wrong, even though he didn't really "beat" him. Just...c'mon. It's Karate Kid.

Other than that, though, it's a pretty solid read. We get to see what these mofos actually do with their spare time and heh, chess for the White King of Checkmate that's a pun see it's funny.

It's interesting...ever since the last issue, the characters have been really, really intent on conveying just how human the Red Tornado is just what he "lost" and all the emotions he must be going through...yet to me, Reddy feels more like an abject machine that ever before. Everyone's all "Oh it must be so hard for his fragile human psyche" and the guy's just like, "DOES NOT COMPUTE. PLEASE REINSERT CD." It would almost feel like a contradiction in the narrative if it weren't for the fact that I'm nearly positive Meltzer is going to go somewhere with this.

Anyway, nice setup, I'm curious as to where the arc leads considering it's supposed to lead somewhere big.

(7.4 out of 10)


X-Factor #18
As is often the case with this book, I'm once again bored by the main storyline and am relying almost completely on the abject strength of its characters to pull me through this. Which is probably a bad thing but these characters are just so damn strong, so...onward! Layla knows stuff.

(8 out of 10)


Flash: The Fastest Man Alive #11
Meh.

Why the goddamn is Piper a villain again? It's something that could never be explained in any logical context...and in this case, they don't even friggin' try. He's literally just there, for no reason, which not only feels out of place within context of this issue considering that every other Rogue got his own intro scene, it's also bewilderingly out of place for the characters since, hello, he's been reformed for decades now? Come on Guggenhiem, the Rogues are just window-dressing here and you know it; you could have had Piper completely absent for this whole adventure and no one would have noticed! Except that he is here and sticks out like a sore, buttsecksed bum. This just...geez, this just doesn't bode very well for Countdown.

Zoom is, once again, written pretty depowered. Christ, if it were as easy as tagging him with a tranq to knock him out, Wally should have been able to beat his ass up and down the street instead of, oh I dunno, having his wife miscarry because of the bastard.

Meanwhile, Iris Allen goes into abject femdom grandma mode and acts btchy and trigger-happy and condescending to her grandsom because...because...oh right, we are also given no reason as to why this happened other than "HEED MY ILL PORTENTS, CHILD." Great. Did I just miss something, is that it? Did I just not read this carefully enough?

After the nice, rising hits of the previous issues, a big disappointment.

(5.4 out of 10)


Brave and the Bold #3
I have no idea what the plot is and characters popping out of nowhere to do stuff I don't understand is confounding.

I don't care! This is so awesome! Batman and GL had no chemistry. GL and Supergirl had no chemistry, but her pink tutu saved the day. Batman and Blue Beetle have abject chemistry up the wazoo. Waid keeps swinging and hitting it out of the park. Let's hope it continues.

(7.9 out of 10)

 

[PhotoJones]

And was it just me, or does Ares -- who was written with the utmost GerardButleresque badassery in his own mini -- comes across as an abject, unlikeable thug here?

apparently it's just you.

The stuff with She-Ultron being something of a clone/model of Jan is pretty interesting, though; I totally didn't expect it, though it makes a kind of of DUH! sense in retrospect. We'll see where this path leads, though I'm already pretty sure that this path leads to general Pym-bashage. I should be annoyed at that but, oh, I just can't muster any genuine emotions concerning that wifebeater LOL I'm so awesome.

actually, bendis said he's going to make pym very important in upcoming issues. also, slott seems to want to restore hank to his status as "big time superhero" by letting the spotlight shine on him in the next issue of the initiative.

i think marvel learned their lesson, and hank pym bashing is a thing of the past. it's about time.

 

[Red]

MIGHTY AVENGERS #2: Well, that didn't last long. After a very promising first issue, MA succumbs to the flaws of it's writer, much as Sentry usually succumbs to the flaws of his psyche. But at least Cho's art is still very very pretty, and no, not just the chick who is nude for the entire issue (but smoke always hides the naughty bits. Got to love modern American morals; showing gorey violence and murder is fine, preaching about friends backstabbing each other is heroic, but god forbid anyone sees a nipple on a breast, all of reality would crumble). Bendis turnes to an old story tactic; when his story seems straightforward, mix it up and slow it down with a lot of flashbacks that serve very little to the plot other than to spoonfeed details to an audience that wants it. If you don't, tough. We already went over who is gathered to the team and why. There was little need to rehash these scenes again with showing EXACTLY HOW Stark & Carol recruit everyone. They're not bad scenes, mind you, but they're hardly pivotal nor tell us anything we haven't already guessed or known. The sort of stuff that is usually editted from a film. Bendis also seems to have forgotten that Wonder Man can turn into a crackly energy guy and fly. He was injured by Goblin last year, but I have heard nada about that injury effecting his powers. It just seems that Bendy liked his 80's power levels, so here they are, without explaination. Simon joins because he won't get work as an actor, Janet still flounders as a designer, and Sentry is essentially not a real character, but a collection of phobies, neurosis, and flaws in the shape of a man. And Black Widow is the hottie Ex Commie eager for action, who looks good in anything she wears. Really, was this a revealing shock? They were all Stark's stormtroopers during CW so why wouldn't they all sign up? Joe Q also made a big hoopla over "the return of thought balloons" (he used to lament how boring they were, but once Bendis uses him, it's suddenly fantastic), but as of this issue, I am officially tired of them. Much like Bendis' dialogue style, it was inititally innovative and interesting, but he has overdone it and now it loses it's spark; you can have too much of a good thing. Now it makes it seem that even as they are talking in "Bendispeak", they think it too. Plus, you always have to love writers who put the criticisms of their audiences into the statements of their villians (Lady Ultron scoffing at Ares and going, "I preferred Thor"), who ultimately will lose. Plus, I still have no idea what the F is going on, without any hints. Ultron trashed Mole Man's underworld, and nukes his monsters. He has invaded Iron Man's body, for some reason. He is a woman who looks like Jan, because, at least, because Ultron still is running with Pym's mental patterns. Right, nothing to do with Cho Cheesecake. And Lady Ultron's powers are typical Bendis godmoder; she can pwn the heroes instantly, without effort, with some unexplainable ability (she can shoot out shockwaves and summon thunder from the sky). The Mighty Avengers lose their first battle. Really, I don't think any writer has gotten as much mileage out of the constant failures and humilations of superheroes than Bendis. To him, that is all they do. They make mistake, after mistake, after mistake, after an endless stream of invincible enemies who can only be defeated by some plot convient side character who shows up and explains things like some 4th grade Librarian from Bizarro World. I have read this from Bendis 500 god damned times and I am sick to F'ing death of it. There are good parts here, sure, but they don't combine into a good whole. How he writes Ultimate Spider-Man is like a guidebook to how he writes everything now, it seems. Promising beginning. Muddled middle. Heroes are humilated, make mistakes, only survive due to plot convience, gimmick or arrogant side character wins for them. The only kinks in this pattern are stories he co-writes with others, like THE ILLUMINATI, and one-shots, where he is amazingly competant. Not the worst comic by far, but jeez, haven't I seen this before? It looks pretty, though. Yes, there is a difference between buildup, with some hints thrown in to keep fans guessing, and just keeping things confusing to almost force the audience to follow along with it, like ULTIMATE CLONE SAGA, or some cheesy soap opera. If I had to pick a fave member, though, it is Ares. Hands down. And of course Stark isn't dead, but that is the least of the issue's problems.

So you won't be finishing the arc?

 

[SouLeSS]

I finally finished all my books, so here's a pretty quick rundown.

52 - 50. Excellent issue. One of the best of the series yet, and now that BA's done for, the rest of the stories can finish. Oh, and as for BA being able to "easily" beat everyone like Willy said up there, they explained it in the mini *shudder*. He's basically a GOD with NOTHING to lose. He doesn't care if he dies, he doesn't care who he kills. 8.5/10

52 - WW3 1-4 "oneshots". This was...horrible. The first issue started off great, then it just turned into (literally) one big MM "oh mankind is so blah blah im so emo" fest. The reasons I really picked this up was to find out what was up with Todd, Casandra, and the TT(because thats how this book was advertied. It was give us basically what happened between IC and OYL). Which it did. The Todd part was only like two pannels long. The Casandra was equally as short. The TT part was a decent part, but wasn't anything too "shocking". It was just the TT getting torn apart by BA. The Checkmate part dominated the rest of the book, which I didn't much care for. I already dropped the book because the whole premesis of the book isn't what I wanted. Throw in two supergirls, a bunch of continuality errors (WW3 ending on day 6 in 52, WW3 ending on day 7 in WW3...umh...HELLO?) and you have, overall, a VERY skippable 10$ 'one shot'.4/10

Nightwing Annual 2 - Pretty good overall. Explained what happened bettwen Babs and Dick. Oh, and him having a ***** and batman saying "You OK chum?" was hillarious. Most 16 year old guys have been there. Ok maybe not having someone come up to you and ask if you're ok 'chum'. But still. This book actually makes me hate how far Nightwing's come since OYL even more. To quote someone over on Newsaramas boards "Apparently he's searching for himself about as diligently as OJ is looking for the real killer." 8/10 (7/10 without the Chum pannel)

****, I have class 10 minutes ago,. I'll finish this later.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

apparently it's just you.

No, he seemed like a thug to me, too. The only difference for me is that he seemed like a thug in his recent mini, as well. He was only humanized a little by his son. Every other scene that didn't feature his son was basically just him bashing the hell out of Japanese magic-types and being obnoxious to Zeus and Hercules. Not really surprising that he does the same in MA. The one thing I found lacking in MA was his tactical mind; all of the ol' strategery he employed in his mini--the selfsame strategery that, coupled with his ruthlessness, made him Zeus' last, best hope against the Japanese hordes--was missing in MA. I'll be lenient on Bendis and chalk that up to Ultron's baiting making him lose focus and attack blindly this time, though, since I'm just getting back into his mainstream comics.

actually, bendis said he's going to make pym very important in upcoming issues. also, slott seems to want to restore hank to his status as "big time superhero" by letting the spotlight shine on him in the next issue of the initiative.

i think marvel learned their lesson, and hank pym bashing is a thing of the past. it's about time.

I'd be more inclined to believe that the Pym-bashing was behind us if Bendis hadn't included Ms. Marvel's "loser husband" comment in the last issue and made Jan react pretty coldly to the mere mention of Hank's name in this issue. But those I can chalk up to unknown behind-the-scenes events between Jan and Hank. After all, they left in Avengers Finale to work on their relationship, then they both suddenly turned up in Civil War without much romance between them, and now Jan seems to hate him again. Plus there's that weird, continuity-ambiguous Beyond mini, wherein Hank left Jan altogether for Firebird. There are a lot of pieces on the table concerning their relationship, but I don't know how they all fit together. I hope someone at Marvel does and we get to see some elaboration on the most dysfunctional couple in comics soon.

 

[PhotoJones]

No, he seemed like a thug to me, too. The only difference for me is that he seemed like a thug in his recent mini, as well. He was only humanized a little by his son. Every other scene that didn't feature his son was basically just him bashing the hell out of Japanese magic-types and being obnoxious to Zeus and Hercules. Not really surprising that he does the same in MA. The one thing I found lacking in MA was his tactical mind; all of the ol' strategery he employed in his mini--the selfsame strategery that, coupled with his ruthlessness, made him Zeus' last, best hope against the Japanese hordes--was missing in MA. I'll be lenient on Bendis and chalk that up to Ultron's baiting making him lose focus and attack blindly this time, though, since I'm just getting back into his mainstream comics.

while it's true he might be a thug, brianwilly specifically wrote "unlikeable thug". judging from the comments left by the people that have read the issue, he seems pretty "likable" to me.

I'd be more inclined to believe that the Pym-bashing was behind us if Bendis hadn't included Ms. Marvel's "loser husband" comment in the last issue and made Jan react pretty coldly to the mere mention of Hank's name in this issue. But those I can chalk up to unknown behind-the-scenes events between Jan and Hank. After all, they left in Avengers Finale to work on their relationship, then they both suddenly turned up in Civil War without much romance between them, and now Jan seems to hate him again. Plus there's that weird, continuity-ambiguous Beyond mini, wherein Hank left Jan altogether for Firebird. There are a lot of pieces on the table concerning their relationship, but I don't know how they all fit together. I hope someone at Marvel does and we get to see some elaboration on the most dysfunctional couple in comics soon.

well, you're correct there. i'm still going to hold out until the next few issues of might avengers (specifically the one with hank on the cover in his ant-man gear), and the next few inititiative issues before i decide all hope is lost for hank.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

I'm kind of curious about the Ant-Man thing myself. I've always favored Hank's simple "Dr. Pym" look or his Giant-Man/Goliath costumes over his Ant-Man ones, but anything that gets him out of that stupid Yellowjacket costume is good as far as I'm concerned.

Ares was likable enough. He seemed more like comedy relief these last two issues, though. There's supposed to be an issue coming up where Ares becomes the Mighty Avengers' "only hope," so I'm guessing he'll get some spotlight and shine a bit there.