Bought/Thought, June 18th, 2008

[SouLeSS]

Trinity was good.

But it's not something I want to read weekly, because just when it gets good, it ends. It's what, like 12 pages of main story?

I think I might wait for the trades, or wait till it's like halfway through and pick up the whole lot of single issues.

 

[Dread]

So I bought the last two issues of Ultimate X-Men on a whim.

Apparntly Jean is a god (k, whatev), Xavier is recovering off continent (k, whatev), Angel is a bird (what the ****?), Collossus is not only gay (whatev), but his power is only to make him metal or whatever, and he's a huge drug addict because it gives him his other powers.

Oh, and Cyclops is obviously going to turn into an addict and have an arc about his recovery and other ****.

I really really really wish I didn't pick these up. But that damn "Ultimatum leadin" banner caught my eye, as I plan on reading that.

It is crap like this that makes me glad I cut out during SENTINEL. Whatever magic Kirkman has on other books was lost on Ult. XM (ironically, his best selling run) and all the reviews of the "new guy" after him have not been good. I heard "Ultimate Colossus" and "steroids" and tuned off. I am SO glad I have pretty much jumped ship on Ultimate. It took me a bit long, but what is done is done.

I'm pretty sure Johnny wasn't going full-on Ghost Ridery in this issue. He even says he's using all of his willpower to keep the Ghost Rider at bay, and that he didn't do anything nearly as bad as he could've done to that dude in solitary.

As for the genre villains, yeah, it gets a bit old. I suspect we're seeing so much of it because the almighty "realism" has crept into comics for a while now, and it may seem jarring to a lot of current readers if creators busted out the Credit Card Warriors against Thor or the Trapster against Ghost Rider again. But, on the other hand, we've got Thor fighting Skrulls in SI: Thor soon and Ghost Rider just fought the Hulk and some alien bugs, so they do still mix it up a bit now and then. If Thor joins an Avengers team, as has been implied he might, I suspect we'll see him fight a much greater variety of enemies--you know, like ninjas and... ninjas.

True about GR. I was figuring he was holding back, but that doesn't change my opinion on Haut's art.

It seems that both THOR and GHOST RIDER step outside their niche for crossovers, which is fine and dandy, but those are can feel artificial, like a "Of COURSE Thor has to fight obligatory Skrulls in SI" and so on. I'd just like to see a little bit of variety. Some people may find it boring if, say, JMS plucked some F-List supervillain out of a handbook, had him go on a robbery spree in Oklahoma only to surprisingly come across Thor, going, "You do not read the mortal news pamphlets, do you?" or something, but it'd feel fresher than orcs for the 100th time.

I don't want Bendis anywhere near Thor. He'd just ruin him by making him sound pedestrian and petty, like he does with nearly every larger than life character.

 

[Dread]

Nearly forgot, I did manage to buy the last comic on my list that I missed yesterday:

GEMINI #2: This is another Image superhero title (a 5 issue mini) by Jay Faerber, who has had critical success with NOBLE CAUSES and DYNAMO 5, the latter of which I read religiously. Based on that, I gave GEMINI a try and while it is interesting, it doesn't seem quite as unique as D5 was. Don't get me wrong; despite the fact that the debut issue ended with the title hero literally getting his head blown off, the tone isn't dark or grimy, and the character has some appeal. Don Johnson is Gemini, but doesn't know it, and operates under watch by a task force group that activates his powers and maintains his amnesia.

Alas, this issue stumbles a bit. Right off the bat we learn that Gemini can regenerate, even regrowing a lost head. This is a problem because now a lot of drama from his battles is gone, since few injuries are worse to a hero than decapitation, and he can just recover in an hour or so. But maybe that only gets on my nerves because regeneration, once limited to Lizard or Wolverine, has become one of the most overused powers since the 80's. I can't count how many heroes have partial or full healing abilities now. The crux of it is that now Gemini can see "Don's" face and without his special contacts, he can't be monitored or "deactivated", and the company risks his identity being exposed. This at least gives the "regrown head" thing a purpose, but surely there were better ways to go about it.

The company sends another of their heroes, Lynx, to "deactivate" Gemini. His design is a bit wonky; the spots are accurate to the animal he is named after, but it looks kind of goofy, which doesn't fit as he is a "Grrrrwwlll, slash!" clawed hero, a la' Wolverine. And maybe that is the general problem with GEMINI so far. It has some interesting ideas, and Faerber knows how to tell a superhero story well enough that nearly any plot is a decent read, but this feels more "stock" than some of his past genre work.

Naturally, Luna, Gemini's superheroine pal, shows up and Gemini assumes Lynx is a villain, so a fight ensues until Gemini is finally "deactivated". The issue ends with the "company" worker who was fired coming to Don's house to seemingly free him from the system.

Co-creator and artist Sommarvia's style isn't for everyone; it has a Ramos/Scottie Young vibe to it, although I will admit the best character he draws is Gemini himself; Asrar from DYNAMO 5 drew the hero for the cover to the annual and he looked more generic than when Sommarvia draws him, which is a plus. The art is kinetic and adds to the look of the series, I guess. The book is enjoyable superhero fare, but it isn't Faerber's best. His column in the back about Waid & Garney's CAPTAIN AMERICA #2 from the HEROES RETURN era is, as always, good reading.

 

[Hush]

I don't understand the question. Are you asking why Guy's an Honor Lantern? If so, it's because he's easily one of the most experienced GLs on the new Corps and he has a penchant for finding unorthodox solutions to problems normal GLs can't handle.

I meant why is Guy and Honor Lantern, and you answered that, thank you. I just wasnt sure if he did something that was extremely noble or if he was just that cool.

 

[THANOSRULES]

anbody got a scan of majory victory's appearance?