BOUGHT/THOUGHT for Wednesday, February 14th

[Fenryr]

So what you're saying is that you have a clown phobia.

What is it you're trying to get me to do? Would claiming to have a phobia make you feel better or something? Aversion and phobia are not the same thing. Piss off.

 

[Sugarculted]

What is it you're trying to get me to do? Would claiming to have a phobia make you feel better or something? Aversion and phobia are not the same thing. Piss off.

is there any need for that?

So, I did get back into Ult.X-men when Cable appeared. Due to the fact it's Cable, and I'm a sucker for Cable. Do you reckon it's worth picking up the funeral issue, and the ones after that?

 

[WOLVERINE25TH]

Depends. How much didja like the Cable stuff?

 

[Kool-Aid]

I have a clown phobia.

 

[hippy fascist]

 

[hippy fascist]

clowns are funny

 

[Dread]

I've started like 7 or 8 before

I remember there being some hassle last week about it. Resulted in like 1-3 pages of bickering that I conviently ignored.

But let's face it, she's a teenage girl, and they can be not so clever. Since I'm pretty sure Whedon has the soul of a teenage girl, he wrote what one might come up with for a name, knowing it was lame, so he had Wolverine make fun of it.

And Whedon's humor falls flat with you because you're lame. Seriously, everyone in the world liked the beer thing but you. It was cute! I'm not gay.

Yes, yes, I "got" that Whedon was poking some fun at it with Logan's rebuttals (such as considering changing his name to "Claws", which is especially cute considering there IS a "Klaw" out there, who ironically doesn't actually have claws). And Paul O'Brien at www.thexaxis.com wasn't thrilled at the beer bit either. Of course, he's British, so only crossdressing probably amuses him. Stereotypes are fun.

I thinks its time to reboot the marvel universe or at least get back to basics. Writers keep writing themselves into walls with crap storylines of other crap storylines. Also M-day was fine but now, do the x-men ever not fight aliens now? I honestly believe that out of anstonishing x-men, the rest of the titles should just be retired(hell give first class a permanent status). Dc at least has composure.

Whatever problems Marvel has wouldn't be solved by a continuity-wise reboot. If anything, Ultimate was a "test run" of what that could be like in the aftermath and that itself is starting to grow conveluted as it lingers for beyond 5 years and most of their A-List talent is departing. Not all problems are solved with a reset button. DC's house-clearing attempts have created almost as many hassles for many characters as they have helped. Switching topical elements like Communism and Vietnam from some origins/stories seems minor in comparison to stuff like "Hypertime".

I agree that some of those codenames really suck. Something that's kinda annoying me is that in X-Men, Carey seems to have almost give Karima Shapandar the codename of Omega Sentinel. When Lady Mastermind called her Cybergirl, she made an off hand remark "If you have to call me something, call me Omega Sentinel, not Cybergirl." and people seem to be taking that seriously. That's what she IS, that shouldn't be a codename. Going off a suggestion you made, I'd rather they try and find a Hindu translation of Sentinel or something else, not Omega Sentinel. That's just begging to be labeled as not even trying.

To be fair to Whedon, Heinberg & Co., coming up with original codenames after some 60+ years of comics is hardly easy. I've played in message board RPG's and that's always a problem.

In X-23's case, that codename was given to her by cold-hearted scientists seeking to make her into the ultimate weapon; if she's going to slowly attempt to gain a persona/identity, she needs to come up with another name. Imagine if Logan still called himself Weapon X.

Plus, Kirkman on INVINCIBLE has poked fun at how simple some classic superhero names can seem looking back from the next century. "So you dress as a bat and call youself...doesn't that seem kind of lazy?" Besides, "Robot" is hardly dissimular from that kind of codename either, and he's a cool character.

The fact that I'm grasping at a straw like "Armor" to provide me with something to complain about is better proof than any that I actually enjoyed the issue.

Best to part with some wisdom from The Tick:"If I were called Gary or Rupert or a piece of fruit, would I be any less a hero? And if Barry were called Moonbeam or Rainbow, would he be any less a jerk? I don't think so. Because a name is a rose that smells only as sweet as you are."

 

[Kool-Aid]

 

[Dread]

i'm so proud of you.

Thanks. I find myself slowly devolving into the sort of fan that used to boggle my mind maybe 3 years ago, those that stay on books they loathe for no end of reasons. With my pull list increasing, I have to cut some losses. Amazed at how little I've missed WIZARD, USM needs to be next.

 

[The Cajun]

Am I the only one who didn't think Thunderbolts #111 was that bad?

I mean yeah, there are big question marks over where Ellis is taking this series. If every issue is just 'watch the Thunderbolts as they take down yet another F list unregistered superhero plucked out of Marvel limbo' then I will drop this series pretty quickly.

However, after two issues it hasn't had a chance to get old yet. It was fairly entertaining to see Jack Flag crippled by the likes of Pennance, Bullseye and Venom. I also enjoy reading Osborn's little interviews with team members.

I am slightly worried though by the fact that issue #113 has the team taking on some poor imitation of Spider-Man.

It's gonna be interesting to see what happens with this book. The outcome of Cival War will have huge effects on it. It's enjoyable so far but I'm really struggling to see how it will last as a long term series in its current form.

 

[hippy fascist]

Thanks. I find myself slowly devolving into the sort of fan that used to boggle my mind maybe 3 years ago, those that stay on books they loathe for no end of reasons. With my pull list increasing, I have to cut some losses. Amazed at how little I've missed WIZARD, USM needs to be next.

Brothers and sisters, he has seen the light!

​

 

[Crosis]

I thought I'd go ahead and do a bought / thought too, since it's a medium-sized week for me and I have some extra time on my hands thanks to massive winter storms in Indianapolis.

Green Lantern Corps #9: The only Green Lantern title I collect, as I love Guy Gardner and can't stand Hal Jordan, and I've been entertained by it so far. That said, issue #8 had a fantastic ending, and a shocking battle in which two of our three heroes were brutally and horribly slaughtered, and the only one left alive, Guy, was soon to be on his way out.

So imagine my disappointment when, in the span of about three pages, every badass moment from the last issue was undone. Sigh. Not only did none of our heroes really die, it killed any sense of doom or danger that had been built into this brute. After everyone's ressurection, the Dominion was dispatched like he was nothing. He never even bothered to use the stealth power ring he ingested. What a waste. They did such a good job setting up the very real danger inherent in the Corpse, and then undid all of it. A yawner of an ending for what could have potentially been this series best story so far.

Ghost Rider #8: I'm as disappointed with the pointless and irritating "Lucifer" retcon as Dread is, but I like Ghost Rider enough that I try to ignore it when possible. I just read "Lucifer" as "Mephisto" and keep hoping that some other author down the road will eventually fix it.

Fortuneately, this issue doesn't really concentrate on that at all. Instead, we're treated to the first part of a story in which, hopefully, Ghostie will be fighting someone BESIDES "Lucifer". After 8 issues, I'm ready for a new villain. I've always had a soft spot for Jack O'Lantern, so a deomincally-possessed version of him could be fun. The story itself this issue is more routine "mistaken identity / small-town idiocy" stuff than I prefer, but I have hopes that a fight between Ghost Rider and Jack will make up for an average set-up.

Exiles #91: I'm still on the fence about Claremont's Exiles. I don't care about Psylocke one whit, and I don't want to see her suddenly become the main focus of the series. I'm especially annoyed that the focus on her has taken time away from the focus on an interesting reality, which is essentially the reason I read Exiles. I'll give it a few more issues, but I fear for the future of Exiles still. This has been my favorite team book for some time, and I was happy to see it finally move away from being a generic "X-team" and start incorporating non-mutants for a more diverse team. Yet now we have two AOA characters, two 616 characters (I count Longshot as a 616 character), a House-of-M Proteus-possessed Morph, and Spidey 2099. I'm fine with some familiar characters, but the roster's getting a little too crowded with familiar faces for my tastes. Not to mention the pointless fight between Psylocke and Sabretooth bored me to tears.

I hope I don't have to drop Exiles in the near future. I may cry if that happens.

The Sensational Spider-Man #35: Sensational is the only ongoing Spidey title I collect, because unlike Amazing, it features classic Spidey villains shamelessly, and unlike Friendly, it seems just a bit more serious and relevant. This issue gives more of the same unapologetic old-school Spidey goodness, this time with a plot from Mr. Hyde, and I can't fathom in the slightest what he's up to here. It's annoying that in the three issues we've seen of Spidey in his black costume, not a one of those appearances has given any clue as to why "black is his state of mind". Come on, if you're going to give us a shameless tie-in with the movie (The most obvious one being in Friendly), at least attempt to wrap a decent story around it. I'm not going to be able to buy into Spidey going emo in Amazing if he's still the same old wisecracker everywhere else. I won't complain too much, though, because I love his black costume and I do hope he keeps it around for a while (Though that's probably wishful thinking). Anyway, the story itself is good, though I still can't stand Medina's art. In the section where the Asian Spidey falls to his death, I couldn't tell if his odd anatomy was Medina's attempt to capture how misshapen a fall like that can make a body, or if he was attempting to do a normal-looking dead body. Sadly, I fear the latter, even though it looks more like the former. And I can't help thinking how gorgeous that cover would have looked if Clayton Crain had drawn it. Still, the writing is good enough to keep me coming back for more.

Y The Last Man # 54: These past few issues of Y have felt like filler, and considering the series is coming to a close VERY soon, that's not good at all. An entertaining story in and of itself, the sheer pointlessness of it makes my head hurt. It's been, what, 2, 3 issues since we saw anything at all of Yorick? Enough already. I don't care about the traveling acting troupe. I don't care about the garbage lady from the first issue. Especially since they aren't really doing anything NEW or DIFFERENT. I won't bother going much in depth on this issue, since it was largely inconsequential anyway.

52 #41: As I was telling my girlfriend yesterday, there were two storylines in 52 that genuinely interested me: Booster Gold's and The Question's. So of course, they killed Booster Gold. Boo. Then they rezzed him. Yay, my interest is renewed again. Sadly, Question won't be getting rezzed, and an old favorite of mine is laid to rest now in favor of a new, hip, lesbian Question with a drinking problem and a loose hold on her psyche. I could rail and whine about how much DC has pissed me off with it's efforts to kill off "old" characters in favor of new "legacy" characters, or their attempts to infuse them with pop relevancy by making them minorities in some way, shape, or form. I could also complain about the horrid visions I'm having of Batwoman and She-Question having make-out sessions on Gotham's rooftops. But the fact is, 52 is starting to just bore me. None of these stories feel like they're having ANY consequence to the mainstream titles now, and aside from a few snippets and cameos, we haven't really seen anything of the other non-Bats, Supes, or WW characters with their own OYL ongoings. Essentially, 52 is starting to feel like a normal, serviceable weekly series, which is fine, but it was billed as being so much MORE than that. And the one thing that would have really made it more, IE World War Three, is now it's own mini-series, since it was "too big" to squeeze into 52.

Sigh. Wasted potential, all of it.

Thunderbolts #111: It's official, I really don't like the Thunderbolts now. I love the concept of villains trying to amend their ways and be real heroes, but this? Ugh. It's like a sick bastardization of the concept. Are we supposed to cheer when Jack Flag gets crippled? If not, then why the hell are these people the main focus of the title now? I don't want to ROOT for them at all. Ellis builds up Jack Flag as a heroic, loving man who manages to somewhat succeed against impossible odds, and in the midst of returning home to rescue his wife (Fiancee?). Bullseye cripples him with a sneak attack as the military watches.
I'm truly not sure what we're supposed to feel while reading this book. I can't root for these thugs, not at all, but by virtue of it being their book, they will of course beat the holy snot out of every virtuous and heroic nobody who opposes them in the issues to come. So why am I gonna read this? I don't LIKE seeing good people go down, even in comic books.
Add to that the sad mischaracterizations here. Swordsman as a lunatic, willing to beat on a crippled man? That doesn't seem at all like the heroic Swordsman Nicieza introduced us to. The only way I can see this book turning around is if it shifts focus somehow, if the unrepentant killers on the team somehow get booted and the book goes back to it's original premise about redemption against all odds. Nicieza's plots may have induced migraines with their complexity, but at least he understood what the book was supposed to be ABOUT!

Am I alone in thinking this about Thunderbolts?

 

[Dread]

Am I alone in thinking this about Thunderbolts?

No. I don't even read THUNDERBOLTS nor really appreciated the fact that they essentially dissolved some classic B and C list villians into heroes who have NEVER been replaced (although in a way that is more to blame editorially than on the title proper), but once CW got going and Ellis' plans were revealed, it seemed obvious that the premise of the book was going out the window to cash in. That always happens. Even if I'm not a fan, I never like fans being screwed.

It is not even the first time for the book. In the first volume, Marvel decided the readers of the book who'd stuck with it for years could be sold out to cash in on the FIGHT CLUB craze. Joe Q chuckles about that blunder now.

As for the tone, I believe Ellis is attempting to give us a "world gone wrong" sort of theme, where we are supposed to be shocked and whatever by each issue (such as Cap being hunted like a dog, but Green Goblin gets action figures). The problem is that reaction cannot bring an audience back for long unless they are masochists, sadists, or fans of the villians. Inducing misery wares thin after a while, and CW is in serious danger of ODing on it.

GLA was originally written to spoof events like this. Marvel published it and totally didn't get the joke.

 

[LouFerignoDemon]

They ****ed up Moonstone.

Either way, the book solves what it was meant to do. You're not meant to cheer for them, you're not even remotely suppossed to think they're the good guys. You're suppossed to see it for what it's meant to be, "what would happen if the government ran a super team out of prisoners?" Which, is a little obviously craptacular in any right, due to the fact the government will ALWAYS look like evil idiots as long as things like that happen.

I liked how Songbird was pissed off that she got what she deserved.

 

[Badfish40oz]

What a crap week. There's not one I'd even want to waste time downloading, let alone go out and buy. Ugh.

 

[Doc Destruction]

i disagree, man. completely.

marvel at least has some semblance of continuity and a shared universe. and each new arc in any given book is usually pretty good for jumping in on.

dc on the other hand has no concept of being reader friendly. i'm a smart guy, but trying to figure out continuity and the different earths is too much for me. that and every book seems to be in it's own little world.

This may have been true 8-10 years ago. It isn't now.

 

[Darthphere]

This may have been true 8-10 years ago. It isn't now.

It kind of is though.

 

[Not Jake]

The only thing DC has done to bring cohesiveness and cut confusion is 52. Which is a huge thing! But nonetheless.

Marvel's still got big world continuity; Civil War branched into all the titles, World War Hulk is bred from an event that itself was an act of a shared universe.

 

[PhotoJones]

Thanks. I find myself slowly devolving into the sort of fan that used to boggle my mind maybe 3 years ago, those that stay on books they loathe for no end of reasons. With my pull list increasing, I have to cut some losses. Amazed at how little I've missed WIZARD, USM needs to be next.

you were still buying wizard??

in all seriousness, i think that if more readers dropped titles that aren't up to snuff, it might be something the creators at both marvel and dc take into consideration more seriously. everything comes to sales, naturally.

 

[PhotoJones]

The only thing DC has done to bring cohesiveness and cut confusion is 52. Which is a huge thing! But nonetheless.

Marvel's still got big world continuity; Civil War branched into all the titles, World War Hulk is bred from an event that itself was an act of a shared universe.

exactly.

but what's 52 anyway? it's ANOTHER attempt at creating a cohesive, working universe. how many times has dc had to do that?

and how many times WILL they have to do that in the future?

 

[Dread]

you were still buying wizard??

in all seriousness, i think that if more readers dropped titles that aren't up to snuff, it might be something the creators at both marvel and dc take into consideration more seriously. everything comes to sales, naturally.

At least until one realizes that several thousand readers need to be gained or lost for a book to really feel any effect. My dropping USM does nada overall.

But on a local level naturally it seems illogical to buy books you hate.

I was buying WIZARD until the end of last year, maybe until October or November. I needed to cut something from the pull list and there was a fat $6 a month expense.

 

[yenaled]

exactly.

but what's 52 anyway? it's ANOTHER attempt at creating a cohesive, working universe. how many times has dc had to do that?

and how many times WILL they have to do that in the future?

52 isn't that it's just telling a story about a group of characters in a while where the biggest heroes do not exist. Yes, it may involve a multiverse (not like Marvel doesn't have one) at one point but it's got nothing to do with continuity fixing. I don't see the problem with DC telling a story in a cohesive universe.

People hear multiverse, alternative timelines, continuity, crisis and freak the hell out it's really not hard to understand.

 

[Phaedrus45]

Bought:

Ultimate X-Men #79
Blade #6
Punisher - Barracuda #1
Amazing Spider-Girl #5
Sensational Spider-Man#35
Wyrms #1
Ghost Rider #8
Thunderbolts #111
Thunderbolts Presents Zemo #1
Astonishing X-Men #20
New Excalibur #16
Marvel Adventures Fantastic Four #21
Exiles #91
Avengers - Earth's Mightiest Heroes #6
New X-Men #35
Nextwave #12
Superman & Batman Versus Aliens & Predator #2
Tales of the Unexpected #5
52 Week Forty-One
Batman #663
Green Lantern Corps #9
Martian Manhunter #7
Justice Society of America #3
Stormwatch #4
Gen13 #5
Friday the 13th #3
Texas Chainsaw Massacre #2 & #3
Battlestar Galactica - Zarek #2

Thought:

Nextwave #12: Well, the party's over, and those few who cherished this book and kissed Ellis' butt each month can finally come back to reality and join the rest of us who realize how unfunny this piece of crap really is. After last issues waste of money with so many two-page spreads, the series concludes by letting the reader know who's been behind everything all along. (I might say and put up spoiler tags...but, who really cares?) What's really baffling about this book is trying to figure out if Ellis truly found what he's writing funny. The word is that there will be a couple miniseries in the future for the Agents of Nextwave, and that's the real horror of this series. We'll just hope that's just a smoke screen to get the few fanatics who clamour for this garbage to go back into their holes waiting on Newsarama for the next morsel of information. 3/12

New X-Men #35: What bugs me about New X-Men is how good the X-23 miniseries are and how much this title is totally ruining her character by making her so two-dimensional and rather dull. What made New X-Men Academy so good was the focus on the character development of the students and that, for once, we saw that actual schooling was going on at the Xavier's Academy. Since Decimation, it's been almost non-stop action. Sure, it's still one of the better X-Men books; but, it does seem it's forsaking it's roots for the usual adventure and action you get in so many books today.

As for this issue, it delivers what you expect it to. Everything is leading up to the final issue of this storyarc next issue; so, everyone is going to try and save Mercury from those who have abducted her. In the process, we discover why she was taken by the same people who made X-23. 8/10

Ultimate X-Men #79: This issue focuses on the death of Xavier and his funeral. Nothing of significance happens, besides realizing Ultimate X-Men obviously is oblivious with events in Ultimate Spider-Man and visa versa. Kitty leaves the X-Men to live with her parents, who happen to reside closer to her boyfriend, Spider-Man, in Queens. Of course, events in Ultimate Spider-Man don't really match up to Xavier's death in this book. What really hurts this issue, though, is some of the worst art you'll see in a comic. (What I do like is the flashback of Wolverine remembering a past encounter with Magneto and how different they used to make him look. Now, he just resembles the 616 Wolverine.) 5/10

Astonishing X-Men #20: I know most people love Joss Whedon on Astonishing X-Men; but, except for his very first storyarc with the return of Colossus, I've found everything else very average. This book just doesn't excite me. Sure, it's got one of the best X-teams of any of the other books; but, these characters and their adventures just can't compare to the ones written by Claremont in the 80's. 7/10

New Excalibur #16: One of my least favorite X-titles; but, it does to be getting better each month, ever since the Juggernaut storyarc in the last three issues. (The team, though, makes me think they are the cast-offs the other books didn't want.) I'm glad this arc will focus on Nocturne, as I absolutely loved her in Exiles. (I guess my problem is all of the characters on this team are rather dull, except for Nocturne, who seems to be so full of life.) 7/10

Marvel Adventures Fantastic Four #21: It's your usual Marvel Adventure story. In this month's issue, the Thing accepts the invitation from the monsters of Subterranea to be their new leader after he feels like he's not accepted by those who live above land. 6/10

Avengers - Earth's Mightiest Heroes #6: I've liked this comic ... until this issue. Everything about this scenario with Hank Pym being Yellowjacket, thinking he's someone else and saying he's killed Hank Pym, joining the Avengers with them realizing he's crazy, and Jan getting the bright idea to marry him in some crazy attempt to make him come to his senses just screams "soap opera." I know, it's Joe Casey taking a classic storyline from Avenger's past and expanding on it...but, some storyline need to remain buried and not try to be improved on (i.e. Bendis/Clone Saga). I didn't read the original; so, I'm not sure how much is expanded...but, I feel like I need a bath after reading this book. Didn't like it, and this week in comics is not looking too hot. 7/10

Exiles #91: At least my first batch of comics I've read had one good book in it. You can always count on Exiles when you need a good comic to read. This issue, part 2 of the 5-part Enemy of the Stars story, sees Psylocke join the group of Exiles in an attempt to learn what happened to the rest of the Exiles in a world controlled by a very evil Susan Storm, "The Overlord Of Creation." What's amazing is that I was thinking Claremont didn't have it in him to write decent storys any longer. But, maybe Exiles is the book struggling writers need to be on. He's doing a great job so far, and this is one of the best series Marvel puts out. 9/10

 

[PhotoJones]

52 isn't that it's just telling a story about a group of characters in a while where the biggest heroes do not exist. Yes, it may involve a multiverse (not like Marvel doesn't have one) at one point but it's got nothing to do with continuity fixing. I don't see the problem with DC telling a story in a cohesive universe.

People hear multiverse, alternative timelines, continuity, crisis and freak the hell out it's really not hard to understand.

okay.

explain to me how there are two supergirls. and wasn't power girl supergirl, once? what happened there?

and that's just one example.

your average reader can't just pick up a dc book and catch on like they could a marvel book. without things like these boards and wikipedia, i don't think i'd read any dc books.

 

[BrianWilly]

52 Week 41
Art seems a bit rushed to me this week, but ironically I hear a lot of people actually liked the art. Go fig.

I'm enjoying the Montoya story, so I thought this week was great. Loved the Wonder Woman cameo, it was about time she popped up. I can't believe I'm saying this...but I hope we get to see some time spent between her and I Ching.

Ah, Ralph. Still a crazy dick, in various senses of the term. Apparently he's assembling items from the three demons, though everything he's learned about magic for the past year would tell him that's a STUPID IDEA GOOD GOD ARE YOU STUPID. We'll see how this goes...forty plus issues of books and this series has disappointed me remarkly little.

And Mogo! That was an awesome surprise. When the Question is Mogo, the answer is hell yes.

(8 out of 10)


Astonishing X-Men #1
AHAHAHAHAHA CRAWL YOU MONKEYS. Crawl back into the manly, awesome arms of your Lord and Savior Joss. Repent and he shall penetrate you with his love. Or perhaps he'll do it anyway.

Colossus and Kitty were awesome, loved the many moments Joss presented of their affection even if she technically said she needed some time, like him shielding her from the fall etc etc. Hisako was awesome. Emma's illusion was great. Joss remains the only person in the world who should be allowed to write Wolverine. And the plot barrels along. The delays suck ass beyond the measure of words to describe, but hell I'm willing to wait for results like this.

(9.7 out of 10)


Justice Society of America #3
Interesting. Wildkitten? I don't mind things being introduced from Kingdom Come, 'cause frankly the future is never ever going to come to pass in the current DCU no matter how much they reference it, so just unlax, people.

I love the way Johns writes Maxine and Courtney. There's a level of fun and offbeatness about these teens that's been, unfortunately, missing from Teen Titans apres death and angstiness.

The picnic slaughter scene was a bit...gratuitous...for my tastes, but it does drive the point home about the severity of the threat, so to speak. And as much as I'm enjoying Meltzer's JLA which from henceforth shall be compared with this title at every possible opportunity no matter how trite, this book took only three issues to get the team assembled and into action.

(7.6 out of 10)


Green Lantern Corps #9
It surprises me that this title is still on issue nine. So much as happened already in this book. Of course, when you consider the GL Corps Reloaded mini, it pretty much brings this book up to issue 15.

Anyway, this remains a great read, straight-up action with some good direct Guy characterization. People who think Guy is just an ass or a caveman or a redneck and want to see him at his most utter awesome, read this book.

(8 out of 10)


Green Arrow #71
...hh.

The reason I stopped buying Green Arrow for the few months prior to and during Infinite Crisis was because, imo, Ollie had become a bit of a moron weakling who let the supervillains walk all over him and got his rear humbled seemingly every single issue. OYL, that problem had seemed to be fixed. Ollie spent some time on an island learning how to be badass again and ooh look katana. He then beat Deathstroke with utter preptime and it was oh so juicy.

I just don't want to see Ollie -- and by that I mean Winick -- falling back into old habits. I mean come on...getting pantsed by the Red Hood? The Red Hood? Joker beat him to death with a crowbar! What's hilarious is that Judd even remarks on it within the issue..."Stupid me, I spent all that time training and this fool still gets the better of me?" Seriously, he spent all that time training and this fool still gets the better of him? That doesn't make Jason look badass or cooler or whatever. That just makes Ollie look weaker.

What's more irritating is that, technically, he beat Jason. He beat him fair and square. But then we dish out the LOL VILLAIN HAS ULTERIOR PLAN LAL YOU FELL RIGHT INTO IT routine. It's a cliche that actually does work in reasonable dosages, but for Ollie -- and by that I mean Winick -- it's old hat by now. Like I said, the year before was crammed full of it. Old habits. One that I really hope doesn't get drudged up again.

In other news, Mia is written well. *shrug*

(6.8 out of 10)


Trials of Shazam #5
Oh Buffy help me, I think I actually liked this issue.

I don't really know quite how to explain it. Well, actually I do. Frankly, this issue was nearly devoid of Winick trying to "update" this mythos to be cool and hip and "with it," which is something that's been dragging this series down since the beginning...oh sure, Billy watches Veronica Mars, but that was actually a nice tidbit which helps more to make Billy the recognizable teen again instead of MYSTICAL PORTENTS EXPOSITIONER. It was charming. It was cute. This series frankly needs more charming and cute instead of emo goatee tattoos Middle East tomfckery. It's Captain Marvel, not the Watchmen.

Without all that nonsense of Winick trying to make Freddy down with the homies or messing with the Shazam mythos, what we've got left is a straight up, entertaining action adventure of Freddy earning the powers of Shazam one by one and proving his worth as a hero and as Billy's successor. Really, there was absolutely nothing wrong with that concept in the first place...until you start to screw with it unnecessarily. That shot of Freddy with Captain Marvel's uniform beneath his clothes granting him invulnerability was just cool. I've said before and I'll say again: Winick works great with "straightforward." The second he tries to do too much and make everything somehow Significant and Important and YouShouldPayAttention is the second his ideas get ahead of his...abilities.

(7.4 out of 10)