BOUGHT/THOUGHT for Wednesday, May 2nd.

[TheCorpulent1]

Ah, so it was Beechen who came back to finish the character assassination he started on Cassandra, huh? ****ing Beechen.

 

[PWN3R]

I can tell everyone hearts the Beechen. I hope his Countdown role is uber small.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

I hope someone gains some sense and fires him.

 

[BrianWilly]

By getting their asses handed to them?

As opposed to whining about their issues for an entire year and THEN getting their asses handed to them, I'll take going down with a fight and taking names along the way. 'Course I may be biased since that scene with Grace and Thunder was the most I've ever liked them...well, ever.

 

[Darthphere]

Ah, so it was Beechen who came back to finish the character assassination he started on Cassandra, huh? ****ing Beechen.

Eh, it was Johns story to finish, and lets be honest, its not like he was writing the **** out of Cassandra when he was on board, I highly doubt the issue would've been any better if Johns wrote the whole thing. But of course Beechen hate is par for the course around here.

Also to add, I'm not bothering with Teen Titans anymore, there isn't even pretty art to look forward to anymore. I tried Beechen, but you failed me. I still buy Robin though.

 

[Phaedrus45]

But, anyway, speaking of The Punisher--am I the only one at this point still reading Punisher MAX?

It's not bad by any means, but I will admit that this is probably Ennis' worst arc so far. It's not completely terrible, but after a collosal event like Man of Stone, it's probably hard to top.

Still, not too shabby an issue--finally explained that wierd person that's been trailing Punisher. That was a thread that was less interesting and more flat-out confusing--was that a he or a she? A transgender? What did he/she/it have to do with the whole thing? Now it's explained, with very little appearence by Punisher, but I'm sure with the next one being the last issue of the arc (this is part 5, right?), things will start to heat up. t:

Ah, the fun of catching up on the bought/thought thread, making sure I don't read reviews to things that I haven't read yet.

As my review shows, I'm still getting Max Punisher, and actually find it a hell of a lot better than Punisher War Journal. The last four or five Punisher stories have been just great to read. This book gives us so many characters who are just as important as Frank Castle to the story. Plus, this story just might be one of my favorite. I love that a group of Yentas are trying to off The Punisher....and, they almost succeed!!! It's a lot more realistic than the cartoony War Journal, where the writer seems to believe Frank could off the entire Marvel Universe. (It makes me love this week's Runaways even more, with Molly taking out Frank with ease.) I don't know if others are turned off by it not being as brutally violent as when Max Punisher first started...but, I wasn't a fan of those issues.

 

[GNR]

I keep reading how good the Midnighter issue was, I'm going to get it. Even though I've never read any Authority/Midnighter comic before.

BKV I love you.

Pick up Book 1 and 2 of The Authority by Ellis.You'll be glad you did and don't bother with books 3 and 4.Ellis wrotes these characters the best.

 

[PWN3R]

I know, it's one of those things I have on my Ellis comics "To do list".

I still haven't read Authority, Planetary, or Fell. I suck I know.

 

[PhotoJones]

I know, it's one of those things I have on my Ellis comics "To do list".

I still haven't read Authority, Planetary, or Fell. I suck I know.

Fell is just about the best thing ever put on paper.

 

[Kraven]

I just read the Sensational Spidey Annual, and thought it was great. I loved the mix of flashbacks, and the dialogue. Great story about Pete & MJ. I for one hope that Joe Q doesn't decide to mess with the marriage in One More Day, and this is a good example of why.

 

[kguillou]

What happened with the deal that Mary Jane was offered, "give spiderman up or go to jail"? Obviously she didnt give Pete up right? Is she going to jail?

 

[Phaedrus45]

Well, I went to my comic shop this morning and was able to get one of each free comic that they got. Anyone read any of these yet? I hate the ones that only offer a 7 page story. Plus, I thought it was weak of DC to give out a reprint of the Legion comic they just released a couple weeks back.

 

[WOLVERINE25TH]

Time constraints pretty much mucked up the reviews on 215 this week, so I'm just gonna post what I did here and get back to basics next week.

BOUGHT:
52 #52
ALL NEW OFFICIAL HANDBOOK UPDATE #2
ASTONISHING X-MEN #21
AVENGERS INITIATIVE #2
BUFFY #3
DANGER GIRL BODY SHOTS #2
DETECTIVE COMICS #832
FRIENDLY NEIGHBORHOOD SPIDER-MAN #20
GHOST RIDER TRAIL OF TEARS #4
GIANT SIZE RED SONJA #1
GREEN LANTERN #19
INCREDIBLE HULK #106
IRON MAN #17
LONERS #2
MARVEL ADVENTURES SPIDER-MAN #27
MARVEL ILLUSTRATED LAST OF MOHICANS #1
MARVEL ZOMBIES ARMY OF DARKNESS #3
MS MARVEL #15
OMEGA FLIGHT #2
PUNISHER #47
RUNAWAYS #26
SENSATIONAL SPIDER-MAN ANNUAL #1
SPIDER-MAN LOVES MARY JANE #18
THUNDERBOLTS PRESENTS ZEMO #4
ULTIMATE FANTASTIC FOUR #41
WONDER MAN #5
WORLD WAR HULK PROLOGUE
XENA #1

THOUGHT:
52 #52
The end is here. We learn the secret of 52 and what Booster and Strange have been up to behind the scenes, as well as the deal with Booster’s ancestor, Mr. Mind and the rest of the fallout from 52. Now, did it answer everything from One Year Later? Most likely not. The creators freely admitted the series took on a life of it’s own as it was going and the goal changed. That is inevitably the danger of prequels; once you change something that’s already been presented, the continuity is lost. However, what we got instead was a satisfying series that gave the spotlight to a lot of DC’s lesser known. There were some slow points, but that’s to be expected with an ambitious project like this. This issue brought everything to a neat close with some happy endings and some dangling threads for future stories. While, yes, there was a lot of techno babble, it was easy to follow thanks to the excellent artwork. Overall good job on DC’s part.

4 out of 5

ALL NEW OFFICIAL HANDBOOK UPDATE #2
More handbook goodness and more updates to prior entries. It’s just unfortunate with a flowing medium like comic books that these updates will soon need updates, but otherwise great an informative as usual. A must for new and old readers alike.

5 out of 5

ASTONISHING X-MEN #21
The X-Men regroup, then split, as they try to learn the mystery of Breakworld and the prophecy. An all-out action issue with the X-Men trying to attack in multiple directions and getting stopped at every turn. Not as much comedy this time around, but some good character moments. Somehow, Wolverine managed to get a new costume in between issues and the ending was definitely strange. We’ll have to see what’s going on there next issue.

4 out of 5

AVENGERS INITIATIVE #2
Even bad ideas can get new life with good writers. Friendly Neighborhood Spidey proved that this week, and so does this title. Slott sends out his Avengers on their first battle against Hydra (who’ve seen a lot of play in recent months). We get a view of what heroing in the new world is like and what they have at their disposal. We also got some eyebrow raises out of Pym and his motivations, and Justice is coming off like the conscience of the team. Plus, an Avengers title that doesn’t suffer from decompression, and two X-Men cameos. So far, The Initiative is turning out to be a pretty good thing coming out of Civil War…if you ignore all the crap that got us here.

4 out of 5

DANGER GIRL BODY SHOTS #2
The terrorist makes himself known while demanding the President of the United States. Obviously, the President depicted wasn’t Bush, because he sounded way too smart. This one was a little light on the laughs compared to last issue, but helped usher the story along. Also, a little too much time was spent on the singular laugh the book tried to go for. A few less panels would have sufficed. Not as good as last issue, but not enough to dissuade further interest in future issues.

3 out of 5

DETECTIVE COMICS #832
The Terrible Trio is back, but this time someone is wiping them out one by one. Another filler issue without Dini, but it was enjoyable nonetheless. Even though the done-in-one stories are light in depth, they make up for it in a decent mystery and plenty of action. That, and by using villains that often get overlooked for the more A-list ones. This one also had a nice sense of poetic justice about it, something Batman stories always benefit from.

4 out of 5

FRIENDLY NEIGHBORHOOD SPIDER-MAN #20
The secret of Miss Arrow revealed, and Flash Thompson’s in trouble! The Other sucked. It was a bad idea start to finish, poorly executed, and thankfully most of it’s ramifications were soon forgotten. All except one. Peter David has managed to take a haphazard story that offered nothing to the Spidey mythos and crafted an interesting new villain out of it. So far, the build-up and this payoff have been satisfying. Hopefully, Miss Arrow doesn’t fall the way of The Other and end up yet another in a series of mistakes, but in the recent months this title had managed to pull itself out of the creative gutter it began in. We also finally get a moment between Peter and Betty since the whole unmasking thing.

3 out of 5

GHOST RIDER TRAIL OF TEARS #4
The Ghost Rider strikes! But you can barely see it. Crane’s artwork in this issue is too dark and erratic to make out a lot of the main action decently. Also, some of the clearer shots are entirely too stiff. This issue offered nothing new except the possible identity of the Rider. The issue was mostly the Rider subjecting the bad guys to abject fear and terror while they’re taken down one by one. That really didn’t need an entire issue dedicated to it, not how it was done here.

2 out of 5

GIANT SIZE RED SONJA #1
Sonja turns 35! Oops, almost forgot, a lady doesn’t reveal her age… Anyway, this issue celebrates with an all-new story from the current Red Sonja creative team, as well as 3 back-ups reprinted from various Marvel comics, all of the remastered and two in color for the first time. The first tale seemed to be a bit out of character for the Sonja this team had established for us these past few years. Sonja came off as more of the villain than the “hero” she’s supposed to be. Also, while the art was good, some of the last few pages were hard to interpret, especially the last panel which, if it was accurate, depicted another out-of-character moment. Following that, we have classics all written by Roy Thomas. The first two are good tales, about equal to the stories Dynamite has been putting out so far and surprisingly brutal for the age in which they were made. The last tale recounts the origin of Sonja, redone by Dynamite early on, and is easily the weakest of the reprints. While the story is good, Sonja finding the man who created her, the story goes from that encounter in the present to the flashback of her origin and then just ends there. There’s absolutely no resolution to the tale that began it. With bonus pin-ups from various artists, this is a fairly decent anniversary issue and it’s cool to see how the Sonja of today compares to the Sonja of yesterday.

3.5 out of 5

GREEN LANTERN #19
Hal learns the secret of the Star Sapphires and gets his first warning of the Sinestro Corps, while Amon Sur hears another twisted tale of a Corps member. The Lantern story is taking a very weird sexual turn as we learn about the Sapphires and their masters. A lot of innuendo and corny lines to be had this time around. Also, the characters’ faces are very non-emotive except in only the extreme close-ups. The saving grace of the issue is the Sinestro Corps back-up, which was basically a reverse Tarzan complete with a twist ending. These Corps members are turning out to be an interesting bunch, and hopefully that will translate over when they’re all together and seeing some action.

3 out of 5

IRON MAN #17
While the use of Extremis is being thrown around to battle the new technological threat, the Mandarin is on his way to a come-back. This is a sad trend with Marvel. They take the chance to remove a long-standing character from the picture and replace them with a newer, fresher legacy character that showed some promise (in this case, the Mandarin’s son from Iron Man vol. 3) only to go and bring back the character in some contrived manner. Another classic example of comic book death at work, folks. Anyway, overall the issue was really just a lot of talking. The action didn’t happen until the end; and boy what weird action it was. While this new arc started off with some promise, it’s starting to falter by this issue. The story is proceeding slowly and just isn’t that interesting.

2.5 out of 5

LONERS #2
They’re falling off the wagon just in time to look into the mystery that will lead them do the deadly Delilah and…Penance! (The girl, not Speedball). So far the story is extremely interesting. The exchanges between the characters are realistic and the script is tight. Every character has their own voice and lives up to what was established back in Runaways. Also kudos go to Cebulski for not only finding a way to tie the book into the recent “Enemy of the State” storyline from Wolverine, but also from the “Identity Crisis” story waaaaaaay back in the original volume of the Spider-Man books. The only negative about the book is the inconsistent artwork, which looks great in some panels but not so much in others.

3.5 out of 4

MARVEL ADVENTURES SPIDER-MAN #27
Dwayne Taylor has just purchased the TV station that the Jester has a vendetta against. Now it’s up to Spidey and Night Thrasher to set aside their differences and rescue the Jester’s hostages. They brought Thrase back to his routes in this one by giving him a skateboard. However, they gave him an all-new design that also includes a trench coat. Overall, this isn’t the Thrash we’ve come to know in the pages of New Warriors because, well, this is an all-ages book. But, he gets the job done. A couple zingers were dealt that fell flat of being funny, but were mildly amusing. The slapstick moments were the better ones. Overall, an entertaining read but nothing overly spectacular. At least this time they remembered to give the villain proper motivation.

3 out of 5

MARVEL ZOMBIES ARMY OF DARKNESS #3
Scarlet Witch joins up with Dazzler and Ash (c’mon, didja really think a little fowl play was gonna keep him down?) as they learn the location of the Necronomicon: Latveria! This issue was better than the last, with a good number of chuckle-worthy moments and even more cameos from Marvel characters. It’s still unusual to see recent characters running around with heroes in their 70s & 80s attire. But, as it’s an alternate universe they can get away with little things like that. Not to mention some bonus Army of Darkness references and featuring Nextwave in their first legitimately FUNNY appearance ever. Overall rating? Groovy.

4 out of 5

MS MARVEL #15
Something is foul in AIM, and it may just mean MODOK his life! The story continues and Ms. Marvel continues to entertain. The Initiative has gone a long way to elevate her to the status she craved after House of M, and each new issue adds new depth to her character. Not to mention they’ve given her a decent supporting cast as well as some classic villains to face. Plus, you just can’t beat a cover by Greg Horn.

4 out of 5

OMEGA FLIGHT #2
Talisman decides to temporarily join Omega Flight in order to find Sasquatch, but finds herself regretting her decision once she meets the rest of the team! A purely set-up issue. We get the team coming together (almost entirely within 2 issues…paying attention, Bendis?) and the fate of Sasquatch, as well as the addition of a mystery player. Despite not much happening, the things in place are certainly interesting enough to leave you wanting to read the next issue. And, as always, Kolins’ artwork is nicely done.

3.5 out of 5

PUNISHER #47
We learn about Punisher’s mysterious savior and get the full scoop on her association with the women out to get him. This one just provided a lot of back story without progressing the plot too far forward. Basically, it lets us know why we should really hate or love the players involved, and gives us more of a reason to rejoice in their inevitable punishment. Formulaic for the series, but it works.

3 out of 5

RUNAWAYS #26
The Runaways have their goal, but even if they survive the Punisher and an unknown powered assailant, they still have to deal with the Kingpin! Another good issue with some comedic moments. However, Kingpin’s sudden obsession with food is a bit out of place and we still learn nothing new about the flying angel guy or what his objective is. Also, more damn ninjas in a Marvel title…except in this case it does make some sense as Kingpin did spend some time in Japan.

3.5 out of 5

SENSATIONAL SPIDER-MAN ANNUAL #1
Dear Marvel, to those in charge who feel the Spider-Marriage CAN’T work and INHIBITS any good stories within the Spider-Mythos, please be sure to commit this issue to memory. Thank you. Fraction has had varying degrees of success on his Punisher title, but he nails it out of the park with this issue, which was entirely dedicated to WHY Peter and Mary Jane are still together. Complete with flashbacks to various moments in the characters’ combined histories, it’s a touching and emotionally powerful story and proof that, in the hands of the right writer, the marriage CAN work and CAN create interesting stories. Marvel needs to stop blaming it for the cause of all their Spider-Man-related problems and get their eye on the ball. Larroca’s artwork shines, but looks different from his usual style under the colorings of Paco Roca. Not a bad different, just different. If you only pick up one Spider-Man title this year, let this be the one.

5 out of 5

SPIDER-MAN LOVES MARY JANE #18
Mary Jane and Harry. Spider-Man and Firestar. Peter and Gwen? Relationships continue to change, but how will they end? Another excellent issue by McKeever and company. Relationships are deepened and altered, and as always the reader can care deeply for these characters on a few short pages. A solid read month after month.

5 out of 5

THUNDERBOLTS PRESENTS ZEMO #4
Zemo comes face-to-face with his father as the unholy ritual in the present is about to be completed. This was a very good end to the series with a surprising conclusion, both in the identity of the researcher and Zemo’s ultimate decision once he returns. Thankfully, this wasn’t another mini-series that resets a character back to the status quo. Nicieza keeps the change he brought about in Zemo and makes it even more justified. It’s a shame the main title will no longer get to experience stories of this quality.

5 out of 5

ULTIMATE FANTASTIC FOUR #41
The Fantastic Four take on Diablo with the fate of their time hanging in the balance. This was an underwhelming arc when you get right down to it. It was a little dull and didn’t offer much to excite the reader. Once again, an Ultimate final battle ends anticlimactically and in an effort to make Ultimate different from 616, they give Thing his most unusual transformation yet.

XENA #1
Set between the end of the series and the last volume of comics, Gabrielle makes a deal with an ancient god to bring Xena back to life. Unfortunately for her, she experiences first hand to be careful what you wish for. Nothing tremendously deep here, this was entirely a set-up for the rest of the series. The art was good, but the characters didn’t resemble the actors as closely as they did in the last series. Also, for those of us who haven’t seen Xena since it’s last TV broadcast, if you don’t remember what happened when the series ended there isn’t much more than vague references of what transpired here. Other than that, it looks to be an interesting story in the making.

3 out of 5

 

[PhotoJones]

The Amazing Spider-Man: Swing Shift - Marvel's Free Comic Book Day offerings weren't too shabby. This was obviously better than the Marvel Adventures Hulk/Iron Man comic, but what else would you expect? Here's what I expect: Dan Slott writting an ongoing (preferably ASM) Spider-Man title by the end of the year. There's no reason for him not too. This little comic book is FUN. It's out of continuity, so it allows Slott to write a classic one and done Spidey tale. Sure, it's formulaic; Peter's on his way to do something at a certain time, and everything's looking up when BAM!, a villian shows up and he's gotta put his personal life on hold for a bit and catch the bad guy. It's a formula that's worked for 40 years, and it still works today, because it's a good formula. You don't need to read backissues to understand the plot, which is the ONLY way Marvel's going to bring in new readers. Right now, a kid cannot walk into their LCS and pick up Amazing Spider-Man and know what's going on. Why's Cap dead? What happened to May? How is that Peter's fault? Why's he in the black costume? While the current storyline makes for a tension-filled read for long time readers, Marvel's really shooting themselves in the foot as far as gaining new readers is concerned.

The hope is that kids go to the LCS on FCBD and they pick up this freebie, and like it. Then hopefully they'll come back and actually buy an issue and get hooked. Marvel's got the first part down just fine. But as for the likely hood of a kid buying a second Spider-Man book after not being able to fully enjoy the first bought issue, it's not too high. Marvel needs a "real" Spider-Man title that's all ages, and decent. I know the Marvel Adventures line is an all ages line, but really it's for kids. All ages means just that - all ages, for kids AND adults. Marvel Adventures seems dumbed down to me, and the reaon for that is because it's geared to kids. But what about the 10-17 year olds that can do without a dumbing down, but want to read and enjoy a Spider-Man comic book. There's really nothing for those kids, and that's where Marvel drops the ball, time and time again.

More Dan Slott penned Spider-Man, please.

 

[PhotoJones]

Black Panther #1-4 (1988 Limited Series) - Now, this is the Black Panther I know and love. I found this little Near Mint gem on Ebay for $5 (the cover price), and it came this week, so I thought I'd put a review up.

This is one dense book. Very wordy, and very good. It took me almost two and a half hours to read 4 issues. For the people that picked this up when it debuted, they sure as hell got their $5 worth. I really like the tone of book. It places up T'Challa's role as leader of an African nation more, and his life as an Avenging superhero less. It's written by Peter Gillis, who wrote some stuff here and there, including the Defenders, Micronauts and a bunch of What If...? stories. I'm really not very familiar with his work, but he definitely shows some chops with this mini.

There are really two storylines running through the four issues. It seems that the Panther Spirit may have left T'Challa, and until he and the Wakandan council can figure out why or if this has happened, he's been removed of his duties as king. At the same time, a mysterious "Man-Panther" creature has been stalking the border between Wakanda and the white-ruled nation of Azania. Azania's obviously a stand in for South Africa, as their government is dedicated to apartheid. When the Man-Panther kills an Azanian top official, the native Africans see that as a sign from Wakanda's Black Panther to revolt. While T'Challa's not against this, it's definitely not his doing. Oh, and someone else has a missle pointed at Wakanda. All that in four issues. Deeeeense.

It works, though. Gillis' pacing is good, and the art by Denys Cowan is very nice. I'm not sure if this one's available in trade (I'm assuming not), but if anyone can get their hands on it, I'd recommend it. It's definitley what the Black Panther was meant to be.

 

[Dread]

The Loners #2: ****ing yes. This is what I expected this comic to be. After a pretty uneven but mostly entertaining first issue, #2 ramps it up by tackling everything The Loners' premise suggested it would be completely and without shame. Yes, there is emoish self-examination and lamentation. Yes, there is a heavy skew on interpersonal relationships. Yes, there is falling-off-the-wagon stuff in the form of superhero action. And yes, they're all balanced in such a way that they come together to form a thoroughly entertaining whole.

Maybe I'm biased--scratch that, I know I'm biased--but this issue's spotlight on Ricochet was everything this book needed. By that I mean that finally Cebulski bridged the gap between the previously incongruous Slingers-Ricochet and Excelsior-Ricochet. For the first time since he appeared with Excelsior in Runaways, I finally get why Johnny is there. We get to go inside his head, see him wax philosophical on the nature of LA, showbiz, and superheroics, and it all fits perfectly with the Johnny I knew and the Johnny I'm learning about now. The issue of Hornet's death is finally addressed in a really strong, albeit somewhat obvious, way. As I've said with Brubaker's Winter Soldier revelation, however, "obvious" doesn't always have to equate to "boring." The pathos Cebulski wrings out of the Hornet/Rico relationship and their idealogical juxtaposition made for great reading. Plus, bonus, we finally see another relic from the post-Clone Saga/Identity Crisis era of Spider-Man's comics. I happened to like Delilah and the Rose as villains a lot back in the day, so it was nice to see her again (even if I didn't know it was her right away because of the haircut and the wildly different visual stylings of Joe Bennett and Karl Moline). I liked that Johnny showboated a bit but still managed to take down the highly skilled, super-strong, super-agile Delilah; that hearkened back nicely to his Slinger days, when he emerged as the most naturally talented at superheroics of the team.

As for the actual plot of the issue, the non-Johnny's-internal-conflict parts basically followed the threads from #1; Mattie, Johnny, and Chris are trying to follow up on the MGH drug ring, Johnny wants to go to the others, Mattie and Chris tell him to wait, Johnny winds up playing a hunch alone. There's not a lot to it since most of the issue is devoted to Johnny's internal conflict, but the pace is brisk and we get a few new wrinkles to the overarching mystery behind the MGH plot. I don't even care about Penance (the Gen X'er, not Emoball), but I'm excited to see where she takes the story in the next issue.

If the first issue were a solid 6 or 7, this issue would be a 9.5. The only thing that keeps it from being a 10 is that there was no mention of the fact that Johnny's other buddy Prodigy is in SHIELD custody after the Civil War. But there was that panel of Mattie looking at dossiers on the three Slingers besides Johnny, so maybe it'll be touched on later (and maybe they'll touch on what the **** ever happened to Dusk then, too). I have officially been hooked.

Glad you are enjoying the title. I know I have. It's great to have those books that you initially anticipate when Newsarama does previews and then it comes out and it still kicks arse.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Sensational Spider-Man Annual: Short review this time. I liked it. It wasn't super-amazing, but it certainly wasn't terrible. It was a nice little story that highlighted the relationship between MJ and Peter and filled me with dread that they're going to kill MJ off soon, but that's probably just my paranoia at work. Anyway, Fraction's plot is good--the dual confrontation between Peter and Lamont and MJ and Brady, the trips down memory lane, the almost-first-kiss moment viewed from both MJ and Peter's perspective--and I really liked the characterization. It was nice to see MJ not crumble and babble incoherently like she tends to do lately in ASM. She held her ground, played smart, and was totally self-sufficient for everything except the big finish, which she really couldn't reasonably have done herself to begin with. My only real problems with the book were Fraction's clunky, Bendis-wannabe dialog and Larroca's art. Damn it, Larroca, what happened to you? You used to have a fun, interesting style. Now you've been reduced to a wannabe-Greg Land on the present-day portions and a wannabe-John Romita, Sr. on the flashback portions.

Oh, and who the hell Lamont is was nagging at my brain for the whole issue; I know he's a cop Peter recently worked a lot with, but I honestly can't remember which one. There was a time not too long ago where Peter was secretly working with a different cop in each of his titles, and I think Lamont was one of them (right around Ramos' run on PPSM, maybe?), but I can't remember if Lamont had anything else to him or if he's just a quasi-familiar name Fraction pulled out of a hat as a treat for longtime readers.

 

[Darthphere]

Oh, and who the hell Lamont is was nagging at my brain for the whole issue; I know he's a cop Peter recently worked a lot with, but I honestly can't remember which one. There was a time not too long ago where Peter was secretly working with a different cop in each of his titles, and I think Lamont was one of them (right around Ramos' run on PPSM, maybe?), but I can't remember if Lamont had anything else to him or if he's just a quasi-familiar name Fraction pulled out of a hat as a treat for longtime readers.

Oh you mean the cop dude from Jenkins run on Spectacular? I think its the same dude.

 

[PWN3R]

I agree with you Photo, Swing Shift was a great read. It was fun, and done in one. What was up with Jackpot? MJ?

Best line is when he randomly screamed, "CAKE!".

Did anyone get Astounding Wolfman? That was also a good read.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

From the Free Comic Book Day selection, I got Swing Shift, Wolfman, the Dark Horse sampler (mostly for Pantheon City), Hunter's Moon, and (my most anticipated read) Whiteout. I've only read Swing Shift so far, but that was a lot of fun. Photojones nailed it: the story is about as formulaic as they come. I think I've read variations on this story about fifty times over my comic-reading tenure, but the formula still works. It forms a comfortable backdrop for new villains and funny dialog in this instance, so it works well. Plus, I liked this villain in particular. There aren't enough car-based villains. Peter's jibes about the fact that the dude was a car-based villain in Manhattan were funny. I liked that he was a Spider-Man fanboy, too.

 

[PhotoJones]

I agree with you Photo, Swing Shift was a great read. It was fun, and done in one. What was up with Jackpot? MJ?

Best line is when he randomly screamed, "CAKE!".

Did anyone get Astounding Wolfman? That was also a good read.

I did pick up Kirkman's new book, and I liked as well. I can't wait for more issues.

CAKE!

From the Free Comic Book Day selection, I got Swing Shift, Wolfman, the Dark Horse sampler (mostly for Pantheon City), Hunter's Moon, and (my most anticipated read) Whiteout. I've only read Swing Shift so far, but that was a lot of fun. Photojones nailed it: the story is about as formulaic as they come. I think I've read variations on this story about fifty times over my comic-reading tenure, but the formula still works. It forms a comfortable backdrop for new villains and funny dialog in this instance, so it works well. Plus, I liked this villain in particular. There aren't enough car-based villains. Peter's jibes about the fact that the dude was a car-based villain in Manhattan were funny. I liked that he was a Spider-Man fanboy, too.

What Marvel needs to do is really invest some thought into putting out or reforming an already existing series to fit the tone of Swing Shift. I honestly think it would be a big seller.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

They've got that in Spider-Girl to some extent.

 

[Phaedrus45]

Additional Thoughts:

Ghost Rider - Trails Of Tears #4: Continuing this tale of an older version of Ghost Rider, we get to see GR's vengeance of the killers of Caleb and his family. Along the way, Caleb's friend, Travis Parham, follows, not necessarily approving of Ghost Rider's technique. What could have been an adequate conclusion, though, continues with a mysterious red fog and probable death.

This is not the best Ghost Rider tale I've read; but, I've been enjoying it, none-the-less. Now, a comic, like Jonah Hex, would have had this overdrawn story end in an issue or two; but, many comics today are almost more about the art than just telling the tale. Basically, it is what it is. I can see why some people might rank it a bit lower than I have. 8/10

Avengers - The Initiative #2: I'm mixed on this comic. On one side, it's nice to see how The Initiative is training upcoming recruits; but, on the other, the title says "The Avengers," and this is clearly not anything close to an Avenger's line-up. (Plus, The Avengers was always about not recruiting those kids who are too young to fight. Rage, as some might remember, was kicked off the team when it was determined he wasn't of age.) Basically, the only members who resemble The Avengers is War Machine and Yellow Jacket (although, they both resemble more of Avengers West Coast than anything else).

Another thing I really disliked about this book is the reaction of Yellow Jacket to Trauma's powers on him. It really disappoints me in a writer when they just keep coming back to issues that have seemed resolved by other storylines in the past. How many times do we have to see Hank Pym haunted by his treatment of his ex-wife, The Wasp? (Or, in other examples, Peter Parker haunted by the death of his Uncle Ben, Bruce Wayne haunted by the death of his parents, or the Thing moping about his condition, only to realize he wouldn't change a thing.) The idea that a senior Avengers member getting such a humongous reaction from an untrained recruit really rubbed me wrong.

Finally, the last thing that bugged me is Marvel presenting this group of young recruits using the Avengers name when we already had a group of young recruits using the Avengers name, namely the Young Avengers. I'd rather have the Young Avengers back rather than another team book, which we are getting an abundance of lately. Sure, it's all for promoting The Initiative; but, I guess going from one Avengers book to three, and going for however many group books to even more is overkill to me. 7/10

Omega Flight #2: Another group book I'm mixed on. First, the art looks pretty bad. Just opening up the book again and looking at the last page really emphasizes that point. Next, no matter what world we live in, I cannot imagine a county wanting the U.S.'s hands in their own affairs. The Canadian government surely has enough Canadian superheroes of their own; and, no matter what, I cannot imagine them ever wanting U.S.Agent to join their group, especially wearing his usual uniform. (In fact, this grouping seems to be a complete hodgepodge of Marvel characters. Ever since Bendis was given control to take practically whoever he wants to make up the Avengers, it seems as if Marvel will put anyone in a group and call them whatever they need at that time.) And, even though we haven't see Beta Ray Bill join the goup yet, it's another bad decision. Beta Ray Bill should have more pressing matters on his mind that this. I'm sure Marvel will sell it to the reader in some way; but, this is a cosmic character relegated to the U.S.'s Civil War.

The odd thing is what I do like about this book is the characters. Beta Ray Bill, Arachne, and Talisman are three who I've really liked over the years. (I've always hated U.S.Agent.) It's just kind of sad that they've had to be involved in this book that just rings false. 6/10

Ms. Marvel #15: The first bunch of issues of Ms. Marvel didn't seem like anything spectacular; but, here is a book that seems to have benefited greatly from Civil War. I love that this character finally has an objective, pitting her against A.I.M. and being a member of S.H.I.E.L.D.. The characters that writer, Brian Reed, uses fit in very well to his story, unlike Omega Flight, and are well thought out. Her interactions with the people around her, like Tony Stark, Simon Williams, and Maria Hill, ring true. I guess it is just nice to see some of the older villians, namely A.I.M. and M.O.D.O.K., used for more than just a joke for once. 8/10

Iron Man #17: Here is another comic that has benefited from the events of Civil War. It's seemed like for ages Marvel has been trying to find a place for Tony Stark, and Director Of S.H.I.E.L.D. fits so nicely. Now, this issue itself isn't anything spectacular; it's more of a promise of things to come. We get a bit more information on The Madarin coming back, they really spend a lot of time on Tony Stark's and Maya Hansen's relationship, and we do get a little bit of action in the end which should lead to a more exciting issue next month. 7/10

World War Hulk Prologue: The event I've been waiting a year for starts out with a whimper. This is mainly to catch up the reader to everything that's happened in the last year, starting with the decision to shoot Hulk into space and everything that's happened afterwards. It does nothing to progress the story, it just benefits those who haven't been reading The Hulk. Oddly enough, the second story, a humor-driven narrative of the same events by Chris Giarrusso, pretty much sums up the same stuff in a light-hearted way. Finally, we get a Mastermind Excello story that we've all heard before. 7/10

Incredible Hulk #106: What really should be the World War Hulk Prologue, especially since events in this comic preceed events in World War Hulk Prologue, sets up the reader to many of the players we'll be seeing in Marvel's next big event. Mastermind Excello meets up with Jen Walters, aka She-Hulk, and in turn, they meet up with Doc Samson, all following events that Mastermind Excello knew would happen. In a tale of "who's playing who," we're not even sure by the time we get to the end of this issue...but, it does make the reader very excited for the next issue, and we cannot wait for the inevitable return of The Hulk. This issue looks good, with art from Gary Frank, and Greg Pak does an excellent job telling his tale. Out of this batch of seven books, it's definitely the best of the bunch. 9/10

 

[TheCorpulent1]

I thought WWH Prologue managed to catch new readers up and progress the story some quite nicely, myself. The She-Hulk/Doc Samson back-and-forth was pretty obviously there to recap some major events and give interpretations that favored the Illuminati on Samson's side and the Hulk on Bruce's side, but the subplot that bookends that exchange was a little something to whet the appetites of readers already in the know. Hiroim's lesson to the Hulk--especially in light of the last couple of interviews with Pak on WWH--seemed to be a catalyst for a whole new kind of Hulk. Yes, he's angrier than he's ever been, but now, thanks to Hiroim, he's learned to harness his rage into cold, calculating fury--an entirely new wrinkle for the Hulk. The point of the story was to recap and also to show that this isn't going to be just another Hulk-smashes-everything-in-sight crossover. The Hulk's actually thinking, focusing his rage on those who actually deserve it, and planning now. That adds a whole new dimension to WWH for me. Before, I figured the Hulk would probably just be too impetuous and, essentially, stupid in his attacks and would wind up screwing himself over at the end of WWH. Now it looks like the Illuminati are going to have to actually work against the Hulk both on and off the actual field of battle, because he'll be behaving more like a colonel than an angry foot soldier. I doubt he'll be able to match up to the likes of Stark or any of the geniuses on the Illuminati, but he's going to at least get the element of surprise, since none of the Illuminati are used to thinking of him in terms other than just as a dangerous but not particularly cunning animal.

Of course, maybe Hulk really will just smash and I'm reading too far into the Hiroim/Hulk plot point.

 

[PhotoJones]

Phaed, you're not a fan of Kolins?