Bought/Thought May 7th, 2008

[CaptainCanada]

Avengers/Invaders #1

Sure to cause a bunch of continuity headaches, we have: the Invaders, time-travelling to the present set sometime before "Secret Invasion", but concluding in May of next year, when "Secret Invasion" will be long over. Alex Ross (credited here as co-plotter), is best known as an artist, but he’s only on covers here, which I’m sure will disappoint some people, although Steve Sadowski has been advertised as artist since the start; speaking of covers, though, that’s a really awesome cover (and it wouldn’t be a bad Avengers team either, though I’d dump Luke Cage). I’ll register mild (moderate, even) disappointment that Union Jack II and Spitfire sit this adventure out, but hopefully their (well, Jackie’s) present self will put in an appearance. The story spends about the first half introducing the Invaders in World War II (not a bad idea, since over half of them are very obscure characters), before they get mysteriously transported to the present (minus the two Brits, since Brian got himself shot), in Time Square, where they pummel the Thunderbolts, who were trying to catch Spider-Man. Spidey promptly calls the New Avengers, while the issue ends with Iron Man being alerted to the Invaders’ arrival. It’s a decent setup issue, I think, with good art and writing; Krueger’s scripting, much like in Justice, has a great way of capturing a character’s essence in a few descriptive sentences; he’s said in interviews that he finds Spider-Man’s dialogue fun to right, and it’s pretty much non-stop jokes, apart from his reaction to Invaders-Cap. Looking forward to the rest of this series.

Detective Comics #844

We get the lengthy origin of the New Ventriloquist (just in time for her to die, seemingly), and Dini throws a seeming wrench in the Batman/Zatanna relationship works, although I kind of suspect we’ll be getting back to this after Morrison’s whole "Batman RIP" story concludes. The backstory given to Peyton is quite well-done, and she becomes quite sympathetic, especially given the end; this leaves Scarface in an interesting place. Given that I highly doubt DC is going to retire him permanently, something must be in the works; I had previously found him very lame, and he still kind of is, but Dini here does a good job of making him/her psychologically interesting, even creepy. Dustin Nguyen’s art remains an interesting choice for a superhero title, especially a detective story like this, although his rendering of the dames is very stylish.

Invincible Iron Man #1

Just in time for the movie, we get this all-new series, which is a bit like the movie in some ways, but it’s still very much entrenched in the current status quo, including spotlight Iron Man as Director of SHIELD; it does have appearances by Pepper and Rhodey though, things the Director of SHIELD title doesn’t have (interestingly, given Larroca’s love of photo-reference for his photo-realism, nobody looks like their movie counterpart, although Rhodey could yet take off his helmet and reveal Terrence Howard). Iron Man is interrupted in his attempt to get laid by a terrorist attack in Africa employing some super-advanced technology, while the new big villain, Ezekiel Stane (Ezekiel is one of those Bible names that you only ever see on villains now), kills some cigarette executives (Joey Q approves, I’m sure) and plots to fight Iron Man; the issue is framed by Tony narrating his "five nightmares" (also the arc title), which, apart from an alcohol relapse, all revolve around the possession and employment of his technology. As debut issues go, this is a pretty good one, although Stane’s supposedly super-advanced tech so far just doesn’t look anywhere near as impressive as Iron Man’s, so the idea that we’re on the verge of a whole new technological revolution perhaps isn’t conveyed as much as Fraction might want. Larroca’s art is wonderful; he’s perfect for Iron Man.

Mighty Avengers #13

Following on last month’s (really, two weeks ago’s) Nick Fury issue, this issue basically follows Daisy Johnson as she makes the rounds in the Marvel Universe, picking out various people Nick Fury has identified as superpowered characters who can’t have been gotten to: apart from Alexander, Ares’ son (with the power of Phobos, God of Fear, a very cool reference), they’re all new characters, albeit, in many cases, with connections to old characters (the original Ghost Rider, Doctor Druid, some villain, etc.); oh, and Layla appears, turning down Fury’s approach. Beyond introducing the characters, not much to say about the plot; Maleev’s art doesn’t work as well here as it did last issue, I think. And, on another art note, the photo wall now no longer has Namor circled blue; Iron Man is instead. Overall, this is a decent two-parter, although the second issue isn’t as good; Fury is definitely poised to make a big splash when he enters Secret Invasion.

Secret Invasion #2

Speak of the devil, here’s the second issue. After the first issue, which spanned pretty much the whole Marvel Universe (apart from the eternally ghetto-ized X-Men), the focus here is ultra-tight, and I think the issue suffers from it a bit. Apart from the last few pages, this is all about the Avengers and the ship-crew in the Savage Land; lots of Skrull accusations are exchanged, at least two of the people in the ship are confirmed to be Skrulls (Hawkeye and Spider-Man), and everyone wants us to think that one, Mockingbird, is not, although the information that Hawkeye treats as absolute proof should be available to the Skrulls (or any telepath) quite easily; if it is true, it will buy Bendis some cred with classic Avengers fan, although that’s a deficit he can probably never make up at this point. Iron Man has a cool moment with Ms. Marvel, sending her home to rally everybody while he, with his armour and technology compromised, vows to build a new suit from components in the old mutate compound. Yu’s art continues to be quite surprisingly good; maybe an inker and a great colourist do make all the difference. The final few pages see the Skrull Armada land in New York, spearheaded by a squad of heavily-armed Super-Skrulls, with only the Young Avengers (sans Stature) on the scene.

Young X-Men #2

Hmm, there’s a lot more to like about this issue than there was in the previous one (starting with the cover, which has Terry Dodson drawing two hot chicks, which pretty much can’t go wrong). Ink’s dialogue is much less annoying, we get a bit more character interaction, and it’s basically confirmed that Cyclops isn’t actually Cyclops, which quiets a lot of concern about the series’ central conceit. After some training, the kids are sent out after Dani Moonstar (depowered) and Magma, the least powerful of the foursome of New Mutants (as compared to Cannonball and Sunspot, in the case of Magma, lady of the living volcano), but who are nevertheless much better combatants. Meanwhile, the idea that there’s a traitor on the team comes to a head rather quickly, and, of course, it’s one of the new characters (and since Greymalkin hasn’t appeared yet, then logically it is...). If the series continues on the improvement curve that it’s one from #1 to 2, this may yet be a much stronger series than I had suspected when reading #1. Paquette’s art is good; it’s a bit bland, maybe, but it’s solid superhero art, which, given the imminent of arrival of Greg Land on Uncanny X-Men, must be appreciated.

 

[Kevin]

I won't get my comics until tomorrow. Sucks that I have to go on my lunch break.

 

[JewishHobbit]

I'll give a little review... why not?

I could only afford 4 comics this week, and I have to say I'm a bit underwhelmed.

1) Avengers/Invaders - I have to say... I didn't like it. The cover was great, but I just read this comic a few months ago when I read "The Twelve"... the characters are just better known. The art isn't that great in my opinion and the story was just kinda bland... though it is just a set up issue, so we'll see what happens from here. There's a lot of focus on Spider-Man and I don't really like how Krueger writes him. I found him annoying, and not in a good, in character sort of way. I liked Earth X and what I read of Justice, so I'm crossing my fingers for this, but I'll probably not pick up any more issues until I hear weather or not it improves or not.

2) Young X-Men 1 - Again... didn't much care for it. I've been a fan of teen X-Men books since Generation X, and I've loved this generation, but this book is doing nothing for me... and all this "X-Men now kill" thing is just really leaving a bad taste in my mouth. This issue basically confirms that Cyclops isn't Cyclops... but unless that goes franchise wide, nothing's changed in that regard. He's still sending X-Force out to kill the Purifiers. He still sent Wolverine to kill Mystique. Nightcrawler still planned to kill Scalphunter in the first issue of DWS. Bishop's still trying to kill a baby. It's just a crappy change in direction.

Now as for this issue itself... it wasn't bad, but the team does little for me. I'm interested in the Tatoo dude, but only a little. I like Rockslide, and Dust and Wolfcub are alright. Blindfold does nothing for me. Overall they're all kinda eh. I don't like the art and I don't like Dani threatening on killing Blindfold with a shotgun. I'm holding on for this book because I like student books, but man I hope this gets better.

3) Mighty Avengers 13 - It was alright, better than the previous two entries. I'm liking this ongoing Nick Fury story, and I always liked Quake, so its cool seeing her here. I also liked the spoof of Ult. Nick Fury. Layla Miller's cameo was cute and brought a smile to my face, and the fact that Bendis finally remembers that Ares has a son is cool. Now let's hope he remembers that the kid is a deadly fighter on par with his father as well and doesn't just bring fear. The other new characters are a little cookie cutter, but I'm curious what comes of them. I have to say I like Ghost Rider's son. He has potential.

All in all a decent filler issue for Nick's background. I think I would have liked it better if not for Maleev's art. I'm not too familiar with it but the more I'm seeing it the less I like it. And who's Jerry Sledge supposed to be the son of? Do we know?

and 4) Secret Invasion 2 - The best of the batch... though nothing to get too excited over. We get the fight in Savage land which reveals several skrulls (no surprises) and one supposive real 'dead' hero returned. I have to say that Mockingbird being alive and real is kinda cool, even though I've read very little with her in it. I think it's cool for Hawkeye. And the art by Yu... which I usually hate... is tolerable. I keep seeing Beast and Emma and I want them to be real... because I miss ape Beast and I can't stand Emma and want her gone... but being that this isn't an X-Men event and doesn't really tie into them, I think it's safe to assume they're skrulls... same with Jean. Sad as it is. And I hated seeing the 2nd Spidey revealed as a Skrull. I had such high hopes that Spidey was a skrull and that they'd wipe away OMD as some mind illusion or something. Unfortunately, I doubt that will happen now.

Scenes I did like was Vision vs Sentry (as brief as it was... and did it confirm that Vision was a skrull, or is that something Vision can do normally?), and the final scene with the Young Avengers. Not as much the Skrull army but the idea that the Young Avengers might get some major scene time in the next issue in the battle for New York. With everyone else save Ms. Marvel in the Savage Land, I'm curious who else will be showing up to help them next issue.

All in all I'm definately excited for this series. I'm not the biggest fan of Bendis' writing, but he's got me hooked into this mini and Marvel's done their promotions well enough to make me want to check out most, if not all, of the tie-ins. And I've liked them all thus far. All in all a good issue. Not quite as good as the previous issue, but definately not bad... and the story's at least still moving forward, which is a bit of a vice for Bendis. I'm on for the long haul.

 

[CaptainCanada]

Nightcrawler still planned to kill Scalphunter in the first issue of DWS.

There's no reason to think that; it's just what he says to Scalphunter, and the story is told from Scalphunter's perspective. Since Kurt's goal is to scare him straight, it can be seen as an act.

 

[El Bastardo]

There's no reason to think that; it's just what he says to Scalphunter, and the story is told from Scalphunter's perspective. Since Kurt's goal is to scare him straight, it can be seen as an act.

 

[JewishHobbit]

There's no reason to think that; it's just what he says to Scalphunter, and the story is told from Scalphunter's perspective. Since Kurt's goal is to scare him straight, it can be seen as an act.

True, but it gives no indication that it was an act really. And which the way the X-Men have been lately it fits the mold. As a longtime fan, it's unsettling. I always pictured cyclops as a very noble, heroic leader once he finally takes the reigns from Xavier. I have to say I'm very disappointed... thus far.

 

[El Bastardo]

The indication that it was all an act is the fact that we got a story. I think that if Nightcrawler had any intentions of actually killing Scalphunter, we would have had a whopping page or two of death and divine retribution.

Besides, it doesn't fit the mold for Nightcrawler. With Cyclops, it's cool to be edgy. With Nightcrawler, well, he's not his AoA counterpart, is he?

 

[Colossal Spoons]

On the fence about pickin up Avengers/Invaders

 

[Dread]

Bit of a hefty week to kick off May, so much so that I am not even going to try to get all these reviews into one post. There is only one Marvel title in this bunch, but it is the one everyone will be discussing this month (most likely).

As always, full spoilers.

DREAD'S BOUGHT/THOUGHT for 5/7/08:

DETECTIVE COMICS #844: As DC goes through massive sales woes, and has been for the last 6 months or longer, and has been suffering almost line-wide negativity and fan-apathy for their 2nd, 3rd, or 12th CRISIS event that is coming (I've lost count), it is books like this that I feel sorry for. Books that aren't trying, at least mostly, to do large "events", aren't out to shock the world, aren't out to piss fans off. They're just trying to tell a solid story with the presented character and do the fundamentals right. Sure, this was part of the RA'S event, but it was a Bat-event, so that is standard. This issue continues the run that Paul Dini has been going through, just offering twists on new and old rogues, offering gritty Gotham noir and some decent mysteries. Books like this, alongside BLUE BEETLE and BOOSTER GOLD, get lost in the shuffle as DC believes the next stunt, same as the last stunt, will save them.

What is it they say about insanity?

About this issue. Taking place after last issue's cliffhanger, with Bruce Wayne being in a car held at gunpoint by the new Ventriloquist, in the middle of another team-up with Zatanna, who is to Paul Dini what Storm is to Claremont; a fetish. But unlike Claremont, Dini at the very least doesn't tell the same story with his muse heroine over and over....or rather maybe he does, but it comes out better. But most of the issue is going over the origin of the new Lady Mastermind, and it is a tale of mafia marriages and intertwined with Wesker's murder. Like many of these tales, it reminds me of a B:TAS episode, only with the censors out the window. Naturally, the bad guys conveniently leave Wayne alone, Zatanna saves him and it all ends on a finale on a boat. But it is done well with great art by Nguyen, who has emerged as the "regular" artist on the run. This is how to do Batman well without having him be too over the top, or too much of a generic superhero or whatnot. Just Batman done well, which has been Dini's DETECTIVE in a nutshell. It isn't good enough to outsell Morrison's overrated cheese fest, but it's good enough for me.

The only bit that felt off was the ending, or the lack thereof. Just when the prior issue hints at something serious between Batman and Zatanna (or Batman with ANY woman within, what, the last few years), it ends as anyone could have predicted. Zatanna figures Batman is too dedicated to crime and it would never work out. Golly gee. People always go on about Batman's love history, but he has a record for having the easiest access to a slew of super-hotties and NEVER sealing the deal with any of them. This is the story Dini keeps doing; Bats & Zatanna have romantic tension, but nothing happens. Nothing. He did this story twice on TV and at least twice in the comics now, if not more. Crap or get off the pot, mister. Frankly, I might find an exploration of these two together more interesting than DESPERATE ATTEMPT TO RIP OFF THE BRUBAKER CAP RUN, otherwise known as BATMAN R.I.P. Does everything about DC that is big have to be deaths or resurrections? Sheesh.

Still, Dini DETECTIVE that isn't a crossover issue = good Batman readin', every time.

Oh, and I adore that cover. It looks like Batman is goosing Zatanna's leg, and her expression is priceless.

DYNAMO 5 ANNUAL #1: Costing a hefty $5.99 and containing a NOBLE CAUSES reprint, among some new content, we get an extra dose of Jay Faerber's cool superhero franchise this month. It kicks off with a reprint of Capt. Dynamo's first appearance in NOBLE CAUSES, a comic I don't read at all. Still, the story is readable and notes Dynamo's rep as a skirt-chaser.

Also written by Faerber and drawn by Gabe Bridwell is "Misdirection", a tale in which Capt. Dynamo flies off to help Image's superheroes battle this massive threat, only to learn that it was all a ploy by his enemy, and lover, Chrysalis. Naturally the chickens for this story already came to roost in the regular series, but that is what makes preludes work sometimes. I liked the cameos by Wildguard, the team of heroes Image forgot about until now, when they have a new mini due out. Timing is everything.

The next story seems to take place before DYNAMO 5 #1, "Trial By Fire", with art by Jack Lawerance. Maddie is training the five to be heroes and isn't impressed by their progress. They go out on a mission and get their butts kicked by the villains, who turn out to have been the Noble clan, asked by Maddie to test the kids. Otherwise, they won't learn nothin'. It naturally fits in fine with the series and Maddie's character.

The last story seems the most pointless of the bunch, "Hard Copy", with art by Matthew Humphreys. Dynamo 5 fight off some werewolves, and are seemingly targeted an expose' crazing reporter who claims to "know their secret". Turns out to be a bluff, but Maddie is forced to ruin the man's career to get him off their back, and Slingshot feels bad about it. I get the point of the story, as another example of some of the questionable things Maddie has to do to protect the team, as well as presenting a morale conflict, but it seemed a bit random, even for an annual.

And naturally there are pin-ups.

Overall, pricey for some, but I enjoy DYNAMO 5 and most of the stories are good if you like them. Plus, I imagine it was another way to get more readers for NOBLE CAUSES. It is a bit soap-opera-ish to me, and I am not sure if it is my cup of tea. But it is still more of the same from Faerber on this property, which is a good thing. An appetizer for the main course that is the regular series.

Plus, a great cover by Asrar, with all of the "Faerber-verse" Image heroes, including his newest, Gemini. Which leads us to...

GEMINI #1: I liked the preview I saw in DYNAMO 5 some while back, so I gave the first ish a try. It was literally the last copy on my shop's shelf, although that was probably because they only ordered maybe 5 copies. Jon Sommarvia's art is a bit cartoony and exaggerated, but I thought he makes Gemini's design look less generic than Asrar did on the DYNAMO 5 ANNUAL #1 cover. The premise of the series was in the preview, and in the first few pages. Gemini is a seemingly technologically empowered superhero who has an entire (government) organization controlling his missions and coordinating his care. They give him orders and even tell him when to engage in battles. Finally, his "alter ego" has no memory of being Gemini.

The people who monitor Gemini via hi-tech contacts are given numbers, not names. 91 is the new female type, acting as the POV character and also the moral center, having issues with the eavesdropping nature of their work. 67 is the "drill instructor" boss lady, 22 is the stodgy "by the books" man and 45 is the younger wisecracker. Apparently they are a company and some workers can move through the ranks to become the next Gemini, apparently because each "host" doesn't last long.

Now, this concept has been done before; Todd Nauck's American Icon character for WILDGUARD basically had the same premise. Dan Slott's spoof hero Grasshopper has a less informal version of this, being employed and maintained by Roxxon. So the concept isn't as fresh as DYNAMO 5 and has some more generic elements, like some of the heroes and villains who show up for the fight scenes. Luna (a heroine who is interested in Gemini), Venture, and some of the villains (although Deadweight did look pretty cool as a Blob cypher), etc. The issue naturally has a "hero is killed" reveal when Gem goes after an abusive husband, which is a shame because his "alter ego" was starting to become interesting to me. The problem with the "disposable hero" schtick is that if you grow interested in the host and he dies, you're wondering about returning for another issue. Granted, as a mini, it is workable.

Plus, I hear BRIT #1 ended like this, too, kinda.

Still, Faerber does the superhero essentials with enough vigor and energy, as well as fun, that you can overlook some of the flaws and enjoy it for what it is. But so far, DYNAMO 5 it isn't.

SECRET INVASION #2: To paraphrase Mr. Burns from THE SIMPSONS, "I may not be a comic book writer, but I know what I hate...and I don't hate this." Maybe it is because Bendis has improved, actually trying to put together an evil threat for his heroes to team together and fight, or his attempts at continuity. Maybe it is because my expectations were this were so low that even a mediocre effort is an improvement. Or maybe HOM really is the type of event that it is easy to surpass (as CIVIL WAR and WORLD WAR HULK showed). We're about a quarter of the way in and so far, honestly, SECRET INVASION ain't bad.

Now, of course, it all could go down the rails at any moment. In fact, I spent every page waiting for a shoe to drop, waiting for Bendis to do that one thing, or many things, that is his trademark brand of suck. That "I think I am smarter than I am", that "I need to FIX this" sort of egomaniac garbage that he shoves into a lot of the 616 team book works. Especially his events. Lord knows that Bendis drags his stories out, and this is an 8 part story here with more than 22 pages per issue (even if this one surpasses that number by a single page). But until that moment happens, I'll continue to see this series as "not too shabby" and if we get to issue #8 and past it without said event happening...then we can say Bendis did an event decently.

But, c'mon, the odds of such a "moment" of suck happening are still pretty even money.

But let's focus on what is here. The New and Mighty Avengers are in the Savage Land (where NA began, basically, in it's first arc) investigating a crashed spaceship. Out of it come, well, themselves, as well as other seemingly dead heroes like the original Vision, Jean Grey, and Mockingbird. Iron Man is toasted by the Skrull Techno-Virus and Ms. Marvel flies him to safety, and he settles on Brainchild's abandoned lab where he sets to make himself a new bootleg armor (JUST in time for the movie). But, seriously, it makes sense. There is a lot of punching between heroes and some banter, and Ronin/Clint gets in a few good "sniping" shots from his doppelganger, and although it was Bendis' fault that Clint is wearing his girlfriend's clothes, it was good seeing him take to bow and arrow again. In much the same way "New Coke" made people appreciate the same ol' slop Coke when it went by the wayside. Yu's art looks great and I can only attribute that to more lead-in time and a better inker.

While it is obvious that most of the "old heroes" are Skrulls and Cage & Logan catch on to the misdirection game the Skrulls are playing, there still is enough doubt to keep things dramatic. A "Cap" who seems a lot like the dead original. And especially Mockingbird, who "reunites" with Clint. Of course, we know she's dead. We've literally seen her in the afterlife a few times (much less in GLA). And there is little way Marvel would be dumb enough to completely butcher Burbaker's best selling and critically acclaimed run on CA to have Bendis revive him. On the other hand, having Capt. Marvel fight the Thunderbolts last issue all but tears out the heart of Reed's CAPTAIN MARVEL, which had the false Mav-Vell vow to fight the good fight regardless of origin. Well, the Skrulls gave an order so **** to that, right? What a waste. His entire 5 issue mini is now worthless. Shame, because it was pretty good.

Now, it is common for Bendis to turn the characters of other writers into complete wastes of time, as he has done for Reed's Skrull Marvel, but one would have thought he'd have shown the same mercy to his ILLUMINATI co-writer that he does for Millar, his Ultimate co-creator. Oh, well.

The issue ends with the Young Avengers laying witness to the invasion fleet landing in midtown, and a bunch of overly ridiculous looking Super-Skrull warriors flood out. Okay, so if the Skrull invasion is all supposed to be about stealth, about "we already have won" shape-shifting, why the **** are they launching generic "invasion death squads" for all to see? I suppose outright knowing Skrulls are about will get more heroes to infight. Or, of course, a war fought on more than one front, with blunt force and with subtle guile. Now, Bendis is all about having heroes mistrust each other for the silliest and stupidest of reasons, regardless of any long term trust established, but at least the Skrulls allow him to play in his element in that way. The Skrulls play to Bendis' strengths more than, say, Dr. Doom or Ultron did. Or even Electro.

Still...I'd rather this basic story happened with Giffen, Abnett, and Lanning, and have featured Great Ultron and his Phalanx warriors. That'd have been better than Bendis' upteenth evil female mastermind. But, oh well.

I imagine some of the tie-in's by other writers will have fun with this story (like A:TI) and so far it isn't nearly as bad as I feared. But we've still got a long time to go before the end. Can Bendis, for once in his mainstream career, evolve and correct his mistakes? Or will the same old flaws and story quirks doom him once again, as they have doomed him every time he seems to do a grand superhero event?

Bought, but have yet to read: INVINCIBLE IRON MAN #1, LOGAN #3, MIGHTY AVENGERS #13, MOON KNIGHT #18, NOVA #13 & PUNISHER: WAR JOURNAL #19.

 

[CaptainCanada]

On the other hand, having Capt. Marvel fight the Thunderbolts last issue all but tears out the heart of Reed's CAPTAIN MARVEL, which had the false Mav-Vell vow to fight the good fight regardless of origin. Well, the Skrulls gave an order so **** to that, right? What a waste. His entire 5 issue mini is now worthless. Shame, because it was pretty good.

Now, it is common for Bendis to turn the characters of other writers into complete wastes of time, as he has done for Reed's Skrull Marvel, but one would have thought he'd have shown the same mercy to his ILLUMINATI co-writer that he does for Millar, his Ultimate co-creator. Oh, well.

Given how closely Reed is involved in this thing (writing large pieces of the leadup, and no less than three different sets of tie-ins), I would imagine there's more to it than that, especially given the solicit for Thunderbolts:

SECRET INVASION strikes Thunderbolts Mountain as Captain Marvel attacks! But when you're dealing with the Thunderbolts, it's never quite clear who's the villain and who's the hero...

 

[Dread]

Given how closely Reed is involved in this thing (writing large pieces of the leadup, and no less than three different sets of tie-ins), I would imagine there's more to it than that, especially given the solicit for Thunderbolts:

Sure, the Thunderbolts are hardly the darlings of morality. I mean, where are the Jury when you need 'em? Last time Venom seemed to "go straight", they were all over him like white on rice. True, not the same Venom, but c'mon...

Anyway, the page in SI #1 seemed to imply that Capt. Marvel was operating under Skrull orders because just when they launch their big attack, he strikes. The common sense connection I made is hardly unreasonable, especially since I have no intention of buying T-Bolts just for a tie-in. I learned that lesson from CIVIL WAR.

 

[CaptainCanada]

Mar-Vell is the only one of the Skrulls who doesn't do the "He loves you" slogan when attacking, so I think that's a subtle clue; given how Illuminati set up Noh-Varr as wanting to be Captain Marvel, and that he is also a player in this story, I expect we'll see more in the main book eventually.

 

[fifthfiend]

Zatanna, who is to Paul Dini what Storm is to Claremont; a fetish.

To my knowledge Dini has neither made Zatanna the Queen of a reality-conquering emperor's harem nor has he dressed her up as a schoolgirl.

 

[Dread]

Mar-Vell is the only one of the Skrulls who doesn't do the "He loves you" slogan when attacking, so I think that's a subtle clue; given how Illuminati set up Noh-Varr as wanting to be Captain Marvel, and that he is also a player in this story, I expect we'll see more in the main book eventually.

I forgot how stupid that slogan was.

But, yeah, Marvel was talking about doing something with Noh-Varr about 2 years ago, so it seems about time to actually deliver.

Considering Slott's having Crusader stick to being a "converted hero" now, A:TI's tie-in should be interesting (especially as "Pym" was often in that book, too).

To my knowledge Dini has neither made Zatanna the Queen of a reality-conquering emperor's harem nor has he dressed her up as a schoolgirl.

I did imply through my review that Dini usually does better by Zatanna than Claremont has recently done for Storm. I was just calling it as I saw it. Dini obviously "loves" Zatanna. He looks for any excuse to use her in many of his stories and he admits his affection for the character. It is like Claremont & Storm, just Dini's written better stories about his muse than, say, a lot of the X-TREME bondage sessions Claremont managed.

Besides, with Zatanna's default outfit, who needs to give her a costume change? No one merges a tuxedo with a stripper's leggings quite like Zatanna. Hey, I'm not saying it like a bad thing, I think it's great. Her "other" costume during her Satellite era days was fugly.

 

[sandwraith]

Doesn't Dini have a Magician wife or something that helps him with the Zatanna issues? Heh, I remember reading how back on the BTAS set, everyone knew Dini had a fixation on Zatanna but just like how nobody talks about your Uncle's old drug habit, I think Timm and Co. tried to avoid it.

I remember Peyton's name being mention in the issue about the Kiribati Mystery, where Bruce's friend was turned into shark food.

 

[Darthphere]

Taking place after last issue's cliffhanger, with Bruce Wayne being in a car held at gunpoint by the new Ventriloquist, in the middle of another team-up with Zatanna, who is to Paul Dini what Storm is to Claremont; a fetish.

I ****ing hate you for making such a idiotic comparison.

 

[fifthfiend]

I totally hate to do it but I kind of have to take my previous comment back, I read Detective and the last what was it, four pages of ugly, ugly goddamn Bruce-Zatanna flirting? That was some Claremont-ugly **** right there.

I mean I don't know if it was just awful or Dread bringing up the Claremont thing made me think it was awful or it would have been awful and having the Claremont thing brought up just made me realize how awful it was but man, ugh.

 

[Doc Destruction]

I know I'm being a comic book nerd and all, but hey Bendis....we saw Mockingbird in hell, when Hellcat was revived...just a little FYI.

 

[Doc Destruction]

Oh, and is it me, or do we have FOUR Captain Americas running around now?

1) Bucky
2) Skrull Cap
3) Invaders Cap
4) Skrull Might-Be-Real-Cap

 

[Xofenroht]

Yeah, that pisses me of a little.

Did anyone pick up "Tor" #1? My shop didn't order any (I hate moving.)

 

[SouLeSS]

Action Annual 11 was pretty good.

If anything, it serves as a buildup point for Metallo (outfitted with green red (turns them into giant ants apparntly) blue and gold (nulls their power) kryptonite) and Parasite (who fully absorbed at least one Kryptonian, should give him an incredible amount of power)

 

[DestinyMakerX]

Amazing Spider-Man #558 - Pretty good, but not as good as the last few issues.
Avengers/Invaders #1 - This was my favourite issue I read this week, it was great. Loved seeing Spidey and the Thunderbolts also.
Invincible Iron Man #1 - I love Matt Fraction and Salvador Larrocca is my favourite comic book artist. However, I was surprised by how average this issue was. Hope next issue is better.
Iron Man: Viva Las Vegas #1 - This was a really fun issue, better than Invincible.
Mighty Avengers #13 - This was another great issue, loved it.
Secret Invasion #2 - Another good issue, though I did not enjoy it as much as the first issue.
Thunderbolts: Reason in Madness - Thunderbolts is my favourite title Marvel publishes. Although this wasn't written by Warren Ellis, I still loved it.

 

[StreetWarrior]

Avengers/ Invaders #1 -- A decent issue. The artwork was okay, but I felt the dialogue was kinda "meh". Still, it wasn't bad at all. 4/5

Invincible Iron Man #1 -- You know, I actually liked this. Despite my hatred for Fraction and the way he raped the Punisher, I think he did Stark well. Still, I can't shake the feeling that this is a publicity stunt for the movie (which was fantastic, by the way). It was nice that it had some continuity references. I'm still devoted to "Director of Shield" but I'll give this points. 4/5

Mighty Avengers #13 -- I've stood by Mighty Avengers and New Avengers for years despite the Bendis criticism. That said, I'm just not feeling this or the last issue. Sorry. 2/5

Moon Knight #18 -- Wow. I can't decide if this series is amazing or aweful. Really, I'm caught in the middle and can't get off the fence. If I had to drop a title, this might be it. Not great but not horrible. At least it's consistent. 3/5

Secret Invasion #2 -- Not bad. Just... slow. A lot of this issue was really unnecessary. And what's with the "hero" Skrulls invading at the end. Sure, they look kinda cool. But why dress like the heros? 3/5

Thunderbolts: Reason in Madness -- Way better than I expected. The writer does a surprisingly good job. For a one-shot, it was pretty freakin' good. Also, I love the "Gargan" Venom. 5/5

Oh, and will Thunderbolts #120 EVER come out. Come on, Marvel. This is ridiculous!

 

[fifthfiend]

Buffy 14: Man, just, ugh. They couldn't have killed Satsu or Buffy or somebody else I find totally obnoxious and unappealing?

 

[Anubis]

Avengers/ Invaders #1 -- A decent issue. The artwork was okay, but I felt the dialogue was kinda "meh". Still, it wasn't bad at all. 4/5

Invincible Iron Man #1 -- You know, I actually liked this. Despite my hatred for Fraction and the way he raped the Punisher, I think he did Stark well. Still, I can't shake the feeling that this is a publicity stunt for the movie (which was fantastic, by the way). It was nice that it had some continuity references. I'm still devoted to "Director of Shield" but I'll give this points. 4/5

Mighty Avengers #13 -- I've stood by Mighty Avengers and New Avengers for years despite the Bendis criticism. That said, I'm just not feeling this or the last issue. Sorry. 2/5

Moon Knight #18 -- Wow. I can't decide if this series is amazing or aweful. Really, I'm caught in the middle and can't get off the fence. If I had to drop a title, this might be it. Not great but not horrible. At least it's consistent. 3/5

Secret Invasion #2 -- Not bad. Just... slow. A lot of this issue was really unnecessary. And what's with the "hero" Skrulls invading at the end. Sure, they look kinda cool. But why dress like the heros? 3/5

Thunderbolts: Reason in Madness -- Way better than I expected. The writer does a surprisingly good job. For a one-shot, it was pretty freakin' good. Also, I love the "Gargan" Venom. 5/5

Oh, and will Thunderbolts #120 EVER come out. Come on, Marvel. This is ridiculous!

Dude, it's Warren Ellis, his stuff is always late.