Bought/Thought January 3rd, 2007...

[Themanofbat]

Bought:

Amazing Spider-Man #537
Civil War #6
Civil War: Frontline #10
Irredeemable Ant-Man #4
The Incredible Hilk #102
Jonah Hex #15
Red Sonja #18
CSI: Dying in the Gutters #5

So far, I've just read the first four comics on that list...

SPOILERS AHEAD...











Irredeemable Ant-Man #4...

Spoiler

This book is an absolute treat in my opinion, which unfortunately, due to poor sales (because it's not an X-Book or a Bat-Book, or a Spider-Book, or even an Ultimate Book, therefore, nobody wants to buy it ), I doubt it'll last more than 12 issues. We get to learn more about how that rascal Eric got the Ant-Suit and it looks like a nifty showdown next issue between him and Mitch. And when's the last time you saw a super-hero use his powers to sneak into the girl's showers to watch nekkid chicks... brilliant stuff. Hester has a unique drawing style, but it works on this book.

(8 out of 10)

Civil War: Frontline #10...

Spoiler

Looks like Tony's up to no good, as Ben and Sally uncover the truth (which we hopefully get to see next issue), and the poorest kept secret in the Marvel Universe unfolds as we see Robbie Baldin become Penance, who will be a feature in Ellis' version of the New Thunderbolts. Ellis is a genius with his own work, but he pisses on creator's past work to tell "his" stories when he deals with established characters. So I hope he doesn't **** up the characters I like in the New Thunderbolts (but he will.... because his ego demenads it ). Anyway, that's another book... I like how Frontlines has been told since issue #1, and you really have to be on top of your reading game as everything since #1 ties in together for a well crafted tale... lots of good character development, which has always been a good trademark of Jenkins.

(8 out of 10)

Civil War #6...

Spoiler

Holy Guacamoly... looks like the sh1te's hit the fan with this issue's climactic ending... we find out who the traiters are on BOTH sides, setting up a big hullaballoo for #7. Nice interaction between Sue and Namor, the Punisher stays on Cap's team for about a minute (are we really surprised by this?) and nice to see that Millar remembered that Spidey has a Spider-Sense... Art was terrific, Cap's never looked so good.

(9 out of 10)

Amazing Spider-Man #537...

Spoiler

the "War at Home" hits part 6 of 7, and Garney's art has improved over the last few issues. Kind of a filler issue, but the Kingpin bit was nice to see, because I remember a time when Spidey was Wilson Fisk's #1 enemy, and stopped short of killing him because of a promise to his wife to give up crime. When Frank Miller reinvented the character in the early 80's, it was just "DareDevil, DareDevil, DareDevil..." and Spidey came off as a joke to Fisk, which was very insulting to this reader, especially if you understand their history together... anyway, it was well worth it to see Fisk want to do something to his once-most-hated-foe instead of thinking of Spidey as a joke. Yet another climactic ending, but we all know that nothing too bad will happen as JMS prepares his final Spider-Man story (penciled by Quesada) for this summer entitled "One More Day" (2 issues of ASM, 1 of FNS and 1 of Sensational)... where they finally deal with the Quesada-created "controversy" of the Peter Parker/Mary Jane Wedding/Marriage. At least the couple will have survived 20 yeas of real life matrimony before that fat dipstick (Quesada) decided he didn't like and started talking about their relationship as if it were controversial, hence making them part ways. And it will be one of those "Peter can't have loved ones due to his being Spider-Man, so he will sacrifice himself of MJ love by always being away from her, and probably letting Loki (remember, Loki owes Spidey a favour) making everyone forget his identity, including MJ... hence, that ol' Spectre of Spider-Man comes between Peter and the woman he loves yet once again, and Spidey will become a vigilante in the Marvel Universe, thanks to Civil War, thus setting things up akin to what they were in the 70's... Spidey's heyday. But that's just speculation on my part.

(7 out of 10)
It would have been 6, but

Spoiler

the Kingpin bit drove it up a notch...

More reviews later...

 

[Brainiac 8]

I won't get mine until tomorrow or Friday...

 

[Citizen_Kaine]

Hey TMOB I thought comics were being shipped tommorow? Or does Canada get a break here?

 

[Themanofbat]

Hey TMOB I thought comics were being shipped tommorow? Or does Canada get a break here?

They showed up at my store in good ol' Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada today.

 

[Citizen_Kaine]

Ay, I live in Vancouver, and I was pondering whether or not to make the treck to the Comic Scene

 

[Muze]

i hereby request more spoilers on Irredeemable Ant-Man #4. PM them to me if you feel like it. for every minute i wait, a liger cub will die an excruciating death.

 

[Darthphere]

So TMOB:

Spoiler

The traitor in Frontline is the same as the one in Civil War, menaing Hulkling as Pym

 

[Doc Destruction]

They showed up at my store in good ol' Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada today.

Wow, my wife is from right around Moncton.

 

[CaptainCanada]

So TMOB:

Spoiler

The traitor in Frontline is the same as the one in Civil War, menaing Hulkling as Pym

Spoiler

No, that doesn't make sense; Hulkling only replaced Pym that same day, and the traitor had been active for much longer than that.

They showed up at my store in good ol' Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada today.

Same here in Charlottetown, PEI.


Civil War #6

Spoiler

I great issue, after the somewhat disappointing issue 5. There are all manner of twists, including the two betrayals (Tigra's reaction when she finds out that Cap knew she was a traitor all along is priceless). Millar gets a lot of knocks, many of them deserved, but he has a sense of scale and action that few other writers currently working have. Steve McNiven's art continues to be stunning.

Civil War: Front Line #10

Spoiler

For once, random fandom speculation got it right: Speedball is indeed the new Thunderbolt known as Penance (that's fairly obvious based on the cover of the issue). Equally amazingly, the annoying end segment is finally gone, having outstayed it's welcome by perhaps seven issues. This issue appears to be set before the end of Civil War #6, given the battle between "Daredevil" and several Thunderbolts that Ben and Sally find themselves in the middle of. I still honestly have no idea how this title is going to conclude.

Uncanny X-Men #482: The Rise and Fall of the Shi'ar Empire: Chapter Eight: Imperial Rescue

Spoiler

For all those people who thought things were going too slowly (to be sure, there's a bit of a case for that, even though I've personally enjoyed this story a great deal; I could have cut an issue or so of material), things certainly pick up in this issue. I wish I hadn't seen the cover for #483, otherwise the end revelation would have been more surprising (it's the price we pay as fans, I suppose). The X-Men meet up with the Starjammers, and find out that Lilandra has already been overthrown; together, they race to rescue her in transit to her show-trial. Plenty of action, which is Billy Tan's strongest suit, and some pretty important plot twists. Another great issue from Brubaker (I get so much mileage out of that phrase.

 

[Darthphere]

Spoiler

No, that doesn't make sense; Hulkling only replaced Pym that same day, and the traitor had been active for much longer than that.

So was the traitor in Frontline?

 

[CaptainCanada]

So was the traitor in Frontline?

The Front Line traitor hasn't been revealed yet.

 

[Darthphere]

The Front Line traitor hasn't been revealed yet.

Darn Marvel solicitations.

 

[Themanofbat]

Spoiler

Hulkling, as Hank Pym, basically had access to everything Pym had access to, so he opened the cells for all the jailed heroes to meet up with Cap's Secret Avengers so they can have a big showdown with Iron Man's Mighty Avengers and the Thunderbolts, as well as SHIELD agents.

The Frontline traitor who changed the nanonites (sic) in Osborn's body has yet to be revealed.

 

[GNR]

I caved and read spoilers elsewhere...

but holy crap does this sound good,

are there any 2 page spreads?

 

[CaptainCanada]

I caved and read spoilers elsewhere...

but holy crap does this sound good,

are there any 2 page spreads?

In Civil War, you mean?

Spoiler

There's one at the end of both sides facing off.

 

[WOLVERINE25TH]

Okay, seriously, these spoiler things are annoying. It's a B/T thread, we've established it's gonna have spoilers in it.

 

[iloveclones]

Read the sticky Wolvie25th. They're doing it because the west coast is getting their shipments delayed. I think we can live with it for a day or so.

 

[WOLVERINE25TH]

The sticky didn't exist before this thread, and anybody who doesn't want spoilers shouldn't be readin' this thread anyways so it's moot. Unless they're brand new to the site, everyone knows B/T threads are spoileriffic. So if they come here and get upset 'cause of spoilers, then that's their own fault.

 

[iloveclones]

Is this really a problem? This is a special circumstance. I think we can inconvenience ourselves to the tune of clicking the mouse one more time for our friends on the west coast.

 

[iloveclones]

Is this really a problem? This is a special circumstance. I think we can inconvenience ourselves to the tune of clicking the mouse one more time for our friends on the west coast.

 

[Themanofbat]

Is this really a problem? This is a special circumstance. I think we can inconvenience ourselves to the tune of clicking the mouse one more time for our friends on the west coast.

The autism makes it really hard for him to get used to change, no matter however slight it might be.

 

[Themanofbat]

<cough, cough>

Just so no one creates a new thread...

 

[Darthphere]

OMG! I must click spoiler button to read something, wasting extra energy!

 

[Red]

More reviews later...

...

 

[Themanofbat]

...

I don't know if anyone cares enough to read reviews of Jonah Hex #15, Red Sonja #18 & CSI: Dying in the Gutters #5.