Bought//Thought March 07 2007.

[Frico]

You like horse vagina.

You obviously missed my point completely

 

[Kevin]

Both crimes equivalent to punching a pregnant woman in the belly. Like, putting your fist straight through her belly and out the other side, with baby goo all over it. And screaming civilians and the collective cry for Superman to help. If only he were real.

When I first started posting here, you were one of the posters I really hated. (Don't remember why, but it had something to do with the DC forums.) Over the months, you've kooled down, which I find weird. That post makes you awesome because I never thought of it and now I wanna use it in a story...

 

[Not Jake]

Yeah, sure, why not.

Yeah! Air five over the internet!


I'm putting up my hand right now!

 

[Not Jake]

You obviously missed my point completely

Well it's not like she can grow a horse penis.

 

[hippy fascist]

Ok, I don't normally do reviews but I was pleasantly surprised with this one so...

Marvel Zombies vs Army of Darkness #1

Yes it felt kind of short and only took about 3 minutes to read...but it was all kinds of awesome!

This picks up with ash entering the marvel zombie universe at pretty much the moment that zombie sentry entered their reality and started spreading the infection. Ash tries to warn the avengers and surprise surprise no one believes him...

The original marvel zombies books stated that the infection spread incredibly quickly and now we find out why, ZOMBIE SENTRY VS THE AVENGERS! But this happens off panel ()

Makes a lot of sense really, infect the avengers and who's going to protect the world? What I like about this book is that due to the lack of info about the early days of the infection in the mini, it doesn't feel out of continuity. This COULD have actually happened within the original story, we just never saw this part of it till now

Ash is note perfect even down to being unable to tell who is the villain when he sees daredevil and thunderball fighting (he ends up helping the wrong guy, albeit in an accidental manner )

Great book, I was kind of worried that this was a crappy marketing ploy and would suck but after reading this first issue it's going straight on my pull list!

Fair review: 4/5

Massive Evil Dead Fanboy Review 6/5!

BUY THIS BOOK!

 

[Mr. Smash'n Bash]

I was waiting for a Marvel Zombies/Army of Darkness 1 review. Can't for 2 to come out.

 

[hippy fascist]

I was waiting for a Marvel Zombies/Army of Darkness 1 review. Can't for 2 to come out.

Yeah it kind of got overshadowed by the death cap so I guess most people forgot to pick it up.

Shame, because this mini looks like it's going to be great fun.

 

[SouLeSS]

Well it's not like she can grow a horse penis.

How do you know?

 

[Not Jake]

She doesn't morph or anything, she just gets their abilities. Like, she'll be all "Falcon." and then she can just jump in the air and fly around. She doesn't actually grow the wings.

 

[Darthphere]

Justice League of America #6- You know, sometimes you read a comic and you get to the end of it and you just sit there, and sigh and ask yourself, what exactly is making me buy this comic? This issue made me ask this question.

I really liked the issue, I thought it was great, but I came out with the same feeling I had going in, I couldn't care less about Red Tornado and his sad pathetic life and his family. I really don't.

So yeah, other than that, the issue was pretty good. I mean, lots of action, big awesome, fight scene with Amazo and on the other side, Red Tornado getting his ass kicked by Grundy. The fight scenes are done well, and we really get to see into the whole team make-up as everyone falls into place. Of course, Amazo is a tough cookie and I will admit, I still think he was taken down way too easily. I know funny. But mostly, what bothered me was, the Geo-Force scenes throughout the arc. I mean, I know its heading somewhere, but c'mon.

Benes art is pretty good. Solid. He does some good work here but he's still not my number one choice for a JLA title.

Overall, I'm excited the team is finally together and look forward to the JSA/JLA crossover and everything else Meltzer has in store.

 

[Max J Power]

Uncanny X-Men #484
The big final battle begins. This issue is as good as any other issue in this arc. I think it will end nicely nad I'm curious as to what will happen afterwards.

Marvel Zombies Vs. Army of Darkness #1
This miniseries looks to be a lot of fun. I had never heard of the writer (John Layman) before, but he writes the characters well and keeps up the humor that Kirkman had on the first Marvel Zombies series.

 

[Dread]

Naturally, the biggest news will be CAPTAIN AMERICA #25 and all of the rumors and revelations therein. I already commented in the merged topic on that subject and probably don't want to waste more text repeating myself. Basically, I don't like it, I haven't read CA's solo title in my entire life, and I am not about to grab up trades now. I see it as just yet another grim death atop a bunch within the past 12 months from both companies, and a publicity ploy. The fact that Marvel gave retailers no warning all but guarenteed that this 50-70k book would instantly sell out and be unavailable for most of their hardcore fans, thus prepping up inevitable, future reprints (which will have 1/2 the value, at best, if you care). We have another year of Bush in office which means I guess the MU still must be nihilistic and bitter. I'm just trying to decide which death was worse: Ralph "The Last 2 Years of my Life have been Crap, every angle I turn two leads to cynicism because I DARED to be a light-hearted character for 40 years, and all my JLI friends are killed off one by one" Dibney, or Captain "Saved a Federal Marshall but got taken out by my enemies when my nation decided I was a piece of spit not worth caring for after over a generation of heroism" America.

At my LCS, what few copies of CA #25 that were left were behind the counter and offered for $7 a pop, FYI.

But, there were some good reads besides that this week, some of which got lost in the shuffle of the "Cap is dead" craze. Upward and onward.

As usual, full spoilers.

DREAD'S BOUGHT/THOUGHT for 3/7/07:

52 WEEK # 44: The theme of death continues as this chapter focuses on the Black Marvel family, recoiling from finding out that Sobek just ate Osiris. Of course, what is great about modern comic deaths is that every writer wants to depict it as "real", so they go through superhuman lengths to showcase the brutalized body, or do an autopsy, or have a cosmic omnipotent being come down and confirm the death, or all of the above. This can be blamed on past writers exploiting any loophole to reverse a death by denying it happened (something that, amazingly, Whedon didn't actually do to revive Colossus, and I think it worked out better). So we get to see Osiris in half-eaten glory. As some have suspected, Sobek is Hunger, and the other 3 Horsemen of Intergang's Apocalypse have been responsible for Kahndaq's destruction. The downside is that both of Black Adam's family are not really used to combat and usually abhor violence. The bitter advantage is that he regains more of his power whenever they die. So basically Adam and Isis defend themselves from the Horsemen, and naturally Adam gets hardcore, but Isis dies, using her last breaths to essentially give up on humanity and give Black Adam all the justification he needs, presumably, for WW3. The downside is that this is fairly typical and generic in a way. Plus, some could say that introducing Osiris and Isis simply to off them is a waste. But the upside is that, unlike Iron Man's "fascism is heroism" arguement, it makes a lick of sense. One could argue, "Intergang is an unfair representation of humanity" and then you have to recall the U.S. backed Suicide Squad also goading the Marvels into a fight just to score a P.R. victory and bait them. What we get here is a story, however typical, of the "nasty man tries to go straight and then life F's him again and he becomes nastier". Many stories have ran with this premise, including ARES. But it works for Adam and you could argue, as Isis and Osiris were made for 52 by their cabal of writers, who else had more authority to kill them? It's not like Cap, where Brubaker killed a 66 year old character he didn't create. We can always complain when a writer kills a longtime character, except when said character is their own creation, because they have that creative authority. Although that is variable; Claremont created and once killed Psylocke, and everyone hated it. Back on target. I've said a few times that Black Adam has become a "poor man's Namor" in 52, but at this point I'd like to change that to "Namor Done Right". IMO, I believe the concept of a nation underwater is something that too many writers feel is too fantastic to be able to get a "realistic" handle on that dynamic. Black Adam's Kahndaq, on the other hand, is a Middle Eastern nation, an area that is closer to home and more socially relevent after 9/11. 52 handled that concept of a reformed villian being a "king" and how some figures in the world reacted to it. Namor has also had peroids of heroism and villiany. Sure, Namor is coming back after CW, but Black Adam in a way did a revision of his schtick and did it much better than I have seen in years.

Oh, and Montoya is urged to leave the monastary and be the brand new, PC Question II. But really, after a battle like that, who cares? One of the cliches that DC has run into the ground in some ways is the "changing of costumes" bit. The Trinity can never change so almost everyone else is dying and swapping pajamas. And then there is that add for WW3, that has a seemingly nekkid Dick Grayson taking off his Nightwing costume and looking longingly at the Robin costume. Good god, WHY!? First "Red Arrow" from Arsenal and now DC may be drilling Grayson back into "Red Robin" from KC? At first I admired DC's sense of legacy, but this year they've really been overdoing it and forgetting that in their race to have their younger heroes replace their mentors, they'd developped their own distinct personas. They'd fled the shadow. That was what I admired about Nightwing from afar, even as a casual DC fan. Maybe DC has done this for a while but they seem to be overdoing it now. It took a lot to get Grayson out of the elf booties. He better not dare go back. Methinks it is because DC realizes that many of their "former teen heroes" have hit a wall since they can NEVER replace the Holy Trinity. Welcome to Marville.

DYNAMO 5 #1: Lost in the shuffle this week was the debut of yet another Image series. It was given a preview in INVINCIBLE #39 (Kirkman has done a lot to try to help struggling newbies break in, from printing fan-art to giving props in letters pages). Even BKV supposedly likes it. The $3.50 pricetag may be offputting, but it basically is because this issue is 28 pages with ZERO ads. It actually reminds me a little of INVINCIBLE; some bits of it are stock genra expectations, but it is the occasional tweak and the EMBRACING, not the fleeing, from the details of the superhero game that gives the work charm. There's some tongue-in-cheek but also some attempts to shirk some stereotypes. The premise, like most good ones, is simple: Capt. Dynamo, a cypher for your demigod Superman clone, has turned up dead, found naked in a hotel with poison on his lips. Turns out that wasn't a ruse, he was a total "playa" and had shamelessly cheated on his reporter wife. Bitter, but seeing that the city needed to be protected from his enemies, Maddie Warner gathers together his five children and bombards them with the same "radiation" that empowered Dynamo, and they have all gained one of his powers. Ironically, while Dynamo mostly exists as a plot point Superman-Lite, his powers are essentially the same as Martian Manhunter: Shapeshifting, Flight, Super-Strength, Laser-Vision, and Telepathy. An ethnically diverse collection of youngsters are gathered and become the Dynamo 5. Their costumes are simple yet effective, and there is some attempt to shrug off some stereotypes. While, yes, the ladykiller black man (who of course is bald) becomes a shapeshifter, the Texan Jock actually becomes the Telepath and a skinny Goth Chick the "tanker", and not vice versa (although for the past 10 years, giving scrawny girls super-strength isn't nearly as rare as it was in the 70's, call it "The Molly Syndrome"). The concept of a football playing jock more familiar with tackles than textbooks being a psychic (a role that usually falls to brainer types) is interesting. FYI, their codename are Scatterbrain, Slingshot, Scrap, Myriad, and Visionary; considering their powers, they are better names than Speed or Stature. There's some variety; Three of them have domino masks, but Scatterbrain has a hood, Myriad is "faceless" like Question and Visionary has a helmet. The plot involves them fighting a group of baddies called The Veil, and the origin is recapped after their Superior leader all but beats/drugs it out of Visionary. And it turns out Maddie is naturally a violent secret agent of one of those countless gov't groups with an ancronym. Faerber's storytelling is very simular to Kirkman or Vaughan, so if you like both you should be happy. I've never heard of Mahmud A. Asrar, but his style is PERFECT for superhero comics; much more than some who actually draw them, like Bachelo or Ramos. For an extra .51 than a usual comic (but with no ads and 4 extra pages), it may seem like a generic title, but give it a shot. It's fun and has a neat twist. The buzz has been solid going in and some stores may underorder it, making it harder to find in a month, perhaps, than the reprint of CA #25 (c'mon, you KNOW that is coming). And yes, some Image veterans like Savaga Dragon, Shadowhawk and Invincible showed up for Capt. Dynamo's funeral. With this sort of classic superhero theme under attack from the Big Two because it isn't dark and grim enough, books that do it well need to be supported. Oh, and it's actually a complete story, not Part 1 of 6. Hopefully the series continues as well as this debut, and more give it a try.

FANTASTIC FOUR #543: The FF's CW story sees an ending here, and they see their 45th anniversary as a franchise, literally the first of Silver Age Marvel, without whom there would BE no Spider-Man, Hulk, X-Men, etc. And they themselves were a unique twist on the "Challengers of the Unknown" gimmick (so don't go knockin' DYNAMO 5, y'hear?). The main story is done by McDuffie & McKone, and honestly is worth the $3.99 pricetag. It attempts to sum up the FF's life up to this point, where the CW has ended and the Richards marriage is on the rocks after Mr. Fantastic became a clone-happy, paranoid (Reed felt Peter was acting "suspicious" when the web-slinger DARED show remourse at a funeral), fasicism-acceppting, Gulag-building mad scientist, little better than Dr. Doom himself (a point Dr. Doom all but brings up in a hilarious-because-it's-true interview. Seriously, Iron Man and Dr. Doom are practially the same character right now, only Doom has no delusions as to what he is and what he wants; his way or the highway). It is an epilogue issue but argueably would be an okay jumping point for a new fan (perhaps one of those casual people brought into the store to buy CA #25 because it's "worth money, yo"). And if ever there was a cover where Thing resembled the brow-less movie version, it was that one. Anyway, basically, Reed & Sue sit and talk, and Sue decides, yes, she still loves Reed, but knowing his capacity to basically become Adolf Hitler on Gringold, she doesn't have the same blind faith in him anymore. But hasn't this been done before? I remember simular speaches when Reed returned from being dead for a year to find Sue could lead the team quite fine without him, or when he pretended to be Doom and then was posessed by his armor, and I am sure I left out a few. Still, not the same as building gulags and foaming at the mouth to dissent Speedball. McDuffie writes it well enough that it doesn't matter. And the Thing/Torch/kids are great, classic Four. The only really hokey bit, besides having Black Panther & Storm replace them (since when was Storm ever a "friend"? Guess it's "old pal's GF has to become your friend" syndrome), was that the TV special was able to gather interviews with all those characters, especially an underwater paranoid monarch like Namor, a tyrant like Doom, or the now-fugitive Spider-Man (still in his classic suit). There are also 2 back-up stories, but they are mostly rubbish. The first has Stan Lee return to the FF after setting a former record for over 100 issues writing it, to produce a spoof story. It's fun but nothing essential besides more nostalgic affection towards Marvel's founding creator, and some good Allred art. The last story by Pope is bunk, from the 7th grade story to the 7th grade art. I know because I used to draw crude comics in notebooks in 7th grade and that last back-up was little better. But, worth it for the lead in story, which is what yer buyin' it for, anyway. As for the rest, I like McDuffie, I've read FF for stretches the past when Mom had a subscription, and I want to know what he does with Gravity. But I really don't care much for Black Panther & Storm, either as a couple or Four members. Decisions...

CIVIL WAR: THE INITITAIVE: Man, before CA #25, I remember when everyone and their mother had a conspiracy theory about that cover. Despite the promo's, it is basically a prelude for the next bunch of mini's and ongoings, including OMEGA FLIGHT, NA: INITIATIVE, MIGHTY AVENGERS, and the THUNDERBOLTS. Ms. Marvel hints that Cap may be alive, a fib that Marvel's since retracted at Newsarama, meaning that the same utter lack of communication and keeping things straight that killed a lot of the execution of CW continues afterwards, a distressing sign. It also notes that the new Vindicator is The Collective, a development that was a surprise but I am not sure I care for. It also confirms that Sasquatch is the only member of AF who survived Collective's attack. Collective goes for the "sympathy" routine, but Lagowski and I don't buy it, especially as the Hulk already milked that gimmick to death. Isn't this Sasquatch's second or third stint as "the only member of the original team alive/left uncaptured"? Oh, well. I'll still get it. There also is more bitter nihilism from Ellis & the Thunderbolts, and I honestly don't see what the allure is. Unlike IRREDEEMABLE ANT-MAN, where Eric is at least not so evil that you hate him, this is just an exercise in bitterness. A new unregistered hero named Hurricane flees from the fed's big bad stormtroopers, who proceed to cripple and pummel him, and all but laugh about doing it, including vicious thugs like Venom, Bullseye, and to some degree Radioactive Man. I can't see why the hell this wouldn't get unreadable after 22 pages, much less entire issues. Not because it is poorly written, but because it can be a drag to read, like 44 pages of Dr. Light raping Sue Dibney. There is also a preview, with text, of Slott's INITITAIVE title, which has War Machine scooping up a newbie metahuman girl, and it's fine enough. Silvestri's art is fine, although his Spider-Woman/Ms. Marvel segments resemble softcore porn at times, making GOLDENBOY look like Shakespeare (2 points to anyone who gets that). Marvel did something simular with CHOOSING SIDES, which did absolutely nothing for ANT-MAN's sales, but it's another old school try. Hopefully it works this time. I still feel, as I did with CHOOSING SIDES, that $4.99 is too high since this is basically an ad; hell, have some mercy and knock off .49 so it can be $4.50 or something.

NEWUNIVERSAL #4: It's still not bad, and better than some mainstream stuff Ellis has done for Marvel before, but I am still feeling a slow burn and while I enjoy the title, it's like BLUE BEETLE for me. I don't yearn it and could miss a week and not care. Some more pieces of the puzzle are revealed as "future versions" of some characters arrive to make sure Starbrand doesn't lose it, HEX robots are activated, and the Nightmask travels to "hickville". But compared to stuff like HEROES, a show whose timing is beneificial for NEWUNIVERSAL, which had a simular premise (just in the 80's it was way ahead of it's time), it isn't as exciting despite Larroca "casting" Bruce Willis or Keanu Reeves in this. Justice is easily my favorite character at this point, and everyone else seems to be moving slowly. It's not bad mind you, but it may read better in trade. Good, just not "OMIGOD I CAN'T MISS THE STORE TO BUY THIS!!" good.

MIGHTY AVENGERS #1: Despite all of the negativity swurling around Bendis, this debut can be summed up by saying it is everything NEW AVENGERS was expected to be, but wasn't. It had a team with history and chemistry. It had heroes fighting villians. It had lighter art. And it had a team that actually makes some bit of logical sense, vs. "hey, throw some darts at a Handbook, Brian, but whatever you do, put Logan and Peter in" that was NEW AVENGERS. Every character gets an introduction, and after Joe Q has leapt through hoops to tell us how outdated thought-bubbles are, Bendis attempts to find some way to bring them back, WHILE having narration boxes. Basically, the boxes narrate, the bubbles bring in quick, Id snippets. I won't herald it as the best invention in comics since WATCHMEN, but it was cute. If anything, Bendis has no delusions about Iron Man being a power-tripping despot here, who does things his way and that is it. He redesigns the helicarrier (to basically look like an Iron Man sneaker), he all but selects the team, and when Carol Danvers questions him, he placates her with a token of field commander, kind of like hushing up a talkitive pupil with a cookie in kindergarten. There is no real angst here and the tone is straight up superheroism. Even if, forgive me for sounding like an unreasonable fan, CAP JUST WAS SHOT DEAD, and even if Iron Man doesn't care, surely Wonder Man, Wasp, or Sentry should give a damn. Speaking of Wonder Man, why is he not only back to his 80's design, but his power level as well? Did I miss something, or will Bendis need another year to explain the fudge, like with Spider-Woman? "Oh, the goblin grenades fudged him up genetically". Ares easily steals every scene he is in, however, and the team fights some Mole Man monsters before the end, as natural disasters rock the world. I question whether this was the "first" Avengers team actually chosen on purpose vs. "fate", and it is funny how some pics showed are of now-hostile figures, and TWO for Two-Gun Kid. In fact the worst bit is the ending, where Ultron hacks into Iron Man, and for some reason, turns him into a naked chick because Cheesecake Cho is on art. That's shameless. But aside for that, you have the Avengers all gathering in a single issue and fighting actual supervillians, and it's not all dark (even if it maybe should be). If NEW AVENGERS had simply started like this, Bendis could have saved himself a lot of trouble. He may be Marvel's #1, but he is very inconsistant; when Bendis is good, he's great, one of the best in the biz. But when he is bad, he's terrible, to the point of being unreadable (and his snarky, egotistic, "I am always right and YOU, the fanboy, know jack ****" tone oozes through despite himself sometimes, no wonder he writes a damn good Iron Man). Sometimes he shifts between these modes in the same arc, and even ULTIMATE CLONE SAGA looked promising in it's debut. But despite all that, this felt like an Avengers issue for once, so I'm satisfied. This one issue beats out maybe 10 of NA, easy.

Still, I will be irked if Cap doesn't get some kind of funeral or mass mourning in the MU like Superman got. Where is the admiration, the respect? This isn't Speedball here, it's argueably Marvel's greated Terran hero and no one but the NEW AVENGERS will care? And I don't mean Loeb's "Five Stages of Perpetual Angst" mini coming up, I mean the feeling throughout the Marvel Nation that despite his mistake, a hero has been lost. Bah.

I also got THE OFFICIAL HANDBOOK OF THE INVINCIBLE UNIVERSE #2 but haven't read it yet. It looks to be more goodness like the last. FYI, Omni-Man can lift 100 tons. Let the Vs. threads commence!

 

[hippy fascist]

HOLY ****! he actually dropped USM!

 

[Dread]

HOLY ****! he actually dropped USM!

Yes, I did. Kind of funny, how something more irritating can make lessor irritants seem small? All the hoopla about Cap, and USM really didn't get a rant mention.

I saw the issue on the stand and looked at it for maybe 5 seconds before moving on to collect DYNAMO 5 #1.

I have read some reviews of this last issue and I have no doubt that it's not bad. But I've played this game with USM before, especially within the last year or so of the title. The start looks promising and then it ends up being disappointing, a let-down, often succumbing to the same tired flaws that Bendis thinks are sheer brilliance (like how utterly clueless, helpless, and feeble he writes USM as being and the utter lack of a secret identity, especially now). While I was obviously numb on Cap in other threads, USM's last arc saw the brunt of my fury. It was deje vu'. 11 or so years ago the original Clone Saga came and made me look at the title franchise that got me hooked on comics and made me go, "this is utter crap, I can't read this anymore", and in a way, Spider-Man died a little for real, in my heart. I was 4 when AMAZING FRIENDS ran in reruns next to SMURFS and a few years later I was thumbing Mom's subs of ASM and WEB, and from there a fanboy was born. Maybe I clung too much to USM so that the same fall was even worse, as Bendis had hindsight and wasted it. Maybe the con's and Bendis' flaws on the title were building up and ULTIMATE CLONE SAGA all but brought all that into a huge, feces filled boil. But no, I don't need a topsey-turvey title like USM anymore.

I won't rule out at some point, IF, and only IF, I heard some unabashed tales of magnificence about the next arc, I could go back to reading it in trade like I used to until SABLE, but at this point, I'm enjoying the extra $3 in my wallet. Bad habits should be broken.

I'll have the 3rd film, and hopefully a decent new cartoon series to get my Spider-Man fix. And reprints.

 

[Darthphere]

Dread, the issue of MA made it seem to me like Bendis wrote the issue not knowing the ending of CW and the events in Cap #25. It seemed Tony got pissed everytime the NA got mentioned and I mean calling Cap "Rogers" even warranted a thought bubble from Carol.

 

[Dread]

Dread, the issue of MA made it seem to me like Bendis wrote the issue not knowing the ending of CW and the events in Cap #25. It seemed Tony got pissed everytime the NA got mentioned and I mean calling Cap "Rogers" even warranted a thought bubble from Carol.

Whatever. I still liked MA #1, didn't I?

 

[Darthphere]

Whatever. I still liked MA #1, didn't I?

Um yeah, no need to get defensive.

 

[BrianWilly]

And then there is that add for WW3, that has a seemingly nekkid Dick Grayson taking off his Nightwing costume and looking longingly at the Robin costume.

We think that's Jason Todd.

 

[Dread]

Um yeah, no need to get defensive.

Yeah. I mean on the one hand I liked that it was light but on the other with the way it was released you'd think they'd have reacted a little about the death. Everyone at Marvel is supposed to have planned this year's worth of stories in a big room somewhere, and Bendis would be #3 after Joe Q and Tom B. Anyway, CW was marred by this kind of faulty slipshod continuity where characters shift to fit a story and don't react as they should.

But forget all that and you have a fun new team of Avengers beating up monsters. Good stuff. And TOTALLY not ninjas. I just wonder where this was when NEW AVENGERS were flounding in Japan trading quips with Silver Samurai of all people.

 

[Dread]

We think that's Jason Todd.

But he is holding Nightwing's costume, so I assumed it was Grayson, stripping to his skivvies and looking at the costume that destiny, or DC's animation dept, feels he is supposed to wear. Unless I am supposed to imagine a naked Jason Todd running around tearing off superheroes costumes to work back up to wearing speedoes and shaving his legs.

Hell, I'D be afraid of him.

 

[BrianWilly]

Jason Todd was acting as [a separate] Nightwing as a while after OYL. Yeah, it really made no sense in the story, and people are assuming that this -- the WW3 tie-ins -- is DC's way to retroactively make sense of it. And DiDio "let slip" recently that Jason Todd is going to become Red Robin during Countdown, so.

Either way, WW3 takes place before OYL anyway, and Dick Grayson is still Nightwing OYL, so obviously he didn't become Robin again.

 

[Dread]

Jason Todd was acting as [a separate] Nightwing as a while after OYL. Yeah, it really made no sense in the story, and people are assuming that this -- the WW3 tie-ins -- is DC's way to retroactively make sense of it. And DiDio "let slip" recently that Jason Todd is going to become Red Robin during Countdown, so.

Either way, WW3 takes place before OYL anyway, and Dick Grayson is still Nightwing OYL, so obviously he didn't become Robin again.

Okay. All this proves I have no business trying to understand DC from the outside. Wacky stuff.

 

[PWN3R]

DYNAMO 5 #1: Lost in the shuffle this week was the debut of yet another Image series. It was given a preview in INVINCIBLE #39 (Kirkman has done a lot to try to help struggling newbies break in, from printing fan-art to giving props in letters pages). Even BKV supposedly likes it. The $3.50 pricetag may be offputting, but it basically is because this issue is 28 pages with ZERO ads. It actually reminds me a little of INVINCIBLE; some bits of it are stock genra expectations, but it is the occasional tweak and the EMBRACING, not the fleeing, from the details of the superhero game that gives the work charm. There's some tongue-in-cheek but also some attempts to shirk some stereotypes. The premise, like most good ones, is simple: Capt. Dynamo, a cypher for your demigod Superman clone, has turned up dead, found naked in a hotel with poison on his lips. Turns out that wasn't a ruse, he was a total "playa" and had shamelessly cheated on his reporter wife. Bitter, but seeing that the city needed to be protected from his enemies, Maddie Warner gathers together his five children and bombards them with the same "radiation" that empowered Dynamo, and they have all gained one of his powers. Ironically, while Dynamo mostly exists as a plot point Superman-Lite, his powers are essentially the same as Martian Manhunter: Shapeshifting, Flight, Super-Strength, Laser-Vision, and Telepathy. An ethnically diverse collection of youngsters are gathered and become the Dynamo 5. Their costumes are simple yet effective, and there is some attempt to shrug off some stereotypes. While, yes, the ladykiller black man (who of course is bald) becomes a shapeshifter, the Texan Jock actually becomes the Telepath and a skinny Goth Chick the "tanker", and not vice versa (although for the past 10 years, giving scrawny girls super-strength isn't nearly as rare as it was in the 70's, call it "The Molly Syndrome"). The concept of a football playing jock more familiar with tackles than textbooks being a psychic (a role that usually falls to brainer types) is interesting. FYI, their codename are Scatterbrain, Slingshot, Scrap, Myriad, and Visionary; considering their powers, they are better names than Speed or Stature. There's some variety; Three of them have domino masks, but Scatterbrain has a hood, Myriad is "faceless" like Question and Visionary has a helmet. The plot involves them fighting a group of baddies called The Veil, and the origin is recapped after their Superior leader all but beats/drugs it out of Visionary. And it turns out Maddie is naturally a violent secret agent of one of those countless gov't groups with an ancronym. Faerber's storytelling is very simular to Kirkman or Vaughan, so if you like both you should be happy. I've never heard of Mahmud A. Asrar, but his style is PERFECT for superhero comics; much more than some who actually draw them, like Bachelo or Ramos. For an extra .51 than a usual comic (but with no ads and 4 extra pages), it may seem like a generic title, but give it a shot. It's fun and has a neat twist. The buzz has been solid going in and some stores may underorder it, making it harder to find in a month, perhaps, than the reprint of CA #25 (c'mon, you KNOW that is coming). And yes, some Image veterans like Savaga Dragon, Shadowhawk and Invincible showed up for Capt. Dynamo's funeral. With this sort of classic superhero theme under attack from the Big Two because it isn't dark and grim enough, books that do it well need to be supported. Oh, and it's actually a complete story, not Part 1 of 6. Hopefully the series continues as well as this debut, and more give it a try.

I'm really looking forward to this book. Think about it, if there were Meta-humans on earth, you know a good many would be using their "celebrity" status to get laid. Superhero illegitimate children would be everywhere. The concept sounds so odd/awesome that it could really be something special.

 

[Dread]

I'm really looking forward to this book. Think about it, if there were Meta-humans on earth, you know a good many would be using their "celebrity" status to get laid. Superhero illegitimate children would be everywhere. The concept sounds so odd/awesome that it could really be something special.

I agree, that is why it works.

This is also from the same creator/writer of NOBLE CAUSES, to anyone to reads that.

 

[kbtoyz902]

So then get the **** out

Don't mean to stray the post off topic, but I should have rephrased my post. I'm just annoyed of the *****ing about cap's death by those who haven't read it. Everyone can keep *****ing about how Bendis can't write avengers(except for yesterday's MA), how slott doesn't get enough titles, etc. I don't mind the criticism with those, because most of the posters actually READ those books, MYSELF INCLUDED. It only makes sense that we complain about feeling ripped off, right?

Most of these "fans" haven't read these books they're singling out, and that's just ******ed. Try finding someone who read the issue and actually thought it was poorly written, paced, illustrated, etc(people who don't like the death even admit that the issue and run is top notch). You'll probably have trouble with that since nearly everyone who's read it says its up to par with the rest of Bru's run, if not one of his best. Everyone whining hasn't even read the issue, let alone the rest of his run that LED to this.

EDIT: I'm also mad at the fact that people who didn't seem to give a rat's ass about Cap before this are saying Marvel is stupid, blah, blah. If you really cared about the book/character, you would have been buying the book prior to this so it would have better sales, and of course, because it's good writing.