Bought/Thought October 18th, 2006

[GNR]

Don't bother. You want to get into the Flash, get the Johns trades. Starting with Blood will run.

I'm liking Flash so far in JLA Y1.

 

[Anubis]

So you went ahead and bought it. Good purchase.

 

[Dread]

Something I wanted to point out since you first commented it, but didn't: there's a whole thread dedicated to the IC HC in the DC forums so it's not like it isn't getting blasted.

I know. I lurk the DC forums plenty, I just don't read many DC books nor know a lot about their continuity so I rarely post there.

Just earlier in the year we had a "Marvel sucks, DC rules" sort of theme here, sometimes even from me back when HOM was still recent, so now it's refreshing to me to see that DC isn't perfect and is just as capable of messing up and irking fans as Marvel is. It's kind of like how I prefer not when American voters whine about either Democrats or Republicans, but realize just how alike they both are in terms of corruption, maintaining a status quo only for themselves, sell-outs for union or corporate "donations" (bribes), and so on. But I've digressed.

I remember when the original Omega Men was the big thing in 1983, and people were paying big bucks for the comics....

Now you can probably find those old issues in cheap bins...

The only issue that you definately can't is the issue where Lobo debuted (in purple/orange spandex, no less).

 

[Colossal Spoons]

This week's Runaways was quite letdown for me. It felt like total filler and I really couldn't care less about that monster's issues. Eh :

 

[Tropico]

I know. I lurk the DC forums plenty, I just don't read many DC books nor know a lot about their continuity so I rarely post there.

Just earlier in the year we had a "Marvel sucks, DC rules" sort of theme here, sometimes even from me back when HOM was still recent, so now it's refreshing to me to see that DC isn't perfect and is just as capable of messing up and irking fans as Marvel is. It's kind of like how I prefer not when American voters whine about either Democrats or Republicans, but realize just how alike they both are in terms of corruption, maintaining a status quo only for themselves, sell-outs for union or corporate "donations" (bribes), and so on. But I've digressed.

LOL, DC as perfect? Hardly!! Marvel is still seen as the "better company" from what I see people post. Even when people were praising DC they always made it clear that they were beating Marvel at the moment. I never got the impression that they were perfect, just that the writing was better at the moment. I said way back when that when the events were over and DC went back to a lower profile that people would turn their back on it and it's already happening. Refreshing that DC is irking its fans "just like Marvel"? DC has always had it's foibles and we've commented on them, it was actually refreshing that a bigger audience and DC naysayers actually got into DC; to me it was too short a time for them to get the praise they deserve to start getting blasted again. But, they made some mistakes so it's only fair that they get called on it for them.

 

[Kotagg]

This week's Runaways was quite letdown for me. It felt like total filler and I really couldn't care less about that monster's issues.

Plus there was only one "LOL Molly" moment.

 

[Colossal Spoons]

^Indeed. I didn't wanna strangle anybody by the end of it.....except Chase. Who leaves a book with that much power in the hands of a stranger. Dummy.

 

[GNR]

Just finished JLA Year One.

Yowza!I really like Waid.He doesn't depend on epic fights or mindless action to tell a story.He gets the characters right,Hal is a goodhearted jock and Aquaman is constantly finding out new things about the surface world.

I really,REALLY enjoyed this,more than I expected.The finale was just awesome with all the heroes fighting together,reminded me of the final episode of JLU.I loved the focus on the 5 main characters,especially Aquaman and Manhunter.I liked the way they connected both being outsiders.

It's a shame this story doesn't get tossed around alot when people talk about their favorite JLA or DC stories.So what if it's out of continuity now?That doesn't take away from the fact that Waid penned one hell of a JLA origin story here.

And that final page,I never saw it coming!

Much recommended story,especially for any newcomers to the DCU.

10/10

 

[Anubis]

Okay, so, books came in today. So far I've read

X-Men#192
Ghost Rider #4
Flash #5
Checkmate #7
Cable/Deadpool (With that awful Leifeld cover) #33
Catwoman#60
Amazing Spider-Girl #1
X-Factor #12
Birds of Prey #99

X-Men #192 - I really enjoyed this ish. This may very well be my favorite X-Men book. (Not counting X-Factor of course.) Rogue taking charge and tellin' Cyke where to stick his orders, Cannon Ball emerging as the go to guy of the group. And Bachalo's art. Man. It's like he's finally started listing to everybody about how crappy his graphitti stuff was looking and kinda started going back to the way his stuff used to look. It's great. This finally shows the full team in all they're glory. Lot of former bad guys. Nice little set up of things to come with Mystique. And I get the feeling that she may end up hooking up with Iceman before Carey's run is over with. I give it a 4 out of 5.

Ghost Rider #4 - Mostly just explaining what the series is gonna be about from now on. GR going after the 666 pieces of Satan so he can send that sonofab***h back to hell. Not bad. Tex on art, once again, amazing. I was gonna drop this, but I've decided to stick around a bit longer. See where this goes. As long as Tex is there, I guess I'll be as well. 4 out of 5.

Flash #5 - While this issue was better than the others, it's still crap. They've made steps of allowing Bart to stop with all the coming to terms with this whole, becoming the new Flash thing, and that's good. The whining was getting annoying. But, it's just not done very well. Not done very well at all. This could have been great if they had a better writer. After six, I'm done until they bring on a competent team. This was noway to relaunch a great character. I feel that Bart could be a great Flash, but only if he's got somebody that knows WTF they are doing at the helm. Art was decent I guess. 2 out of 5.

Cable & Deadpool #33 - Well, a pretty Meh ish. Domino smiled. some s**t got blowed up. And DP betrayed Cable. Saw it coming a mile away. 3 out of 5.

Checkmate #7 -Good ish. Couple of more villains died. None of which will be missed. They got a new Tattooed Man already, and Johns created him so, they were just getting this loser out of the way. And Javelin or whatever the hell his name was, who cares, besides Germans I guess. Now if they hada killed off Icicle, I woulda been pissed. One of the most underrated villains in comics in my opinion. It's not about powers, but personality. The guys a damn good bad guy. The kind that, if you were a bad guy just starting out in the business, you'd want him to show you the ropes. Bronze Tiger rocks, and Jewley is a f**king nut. 4 out of 5.

ASG #1 - (Gonna have to get used to saying that.) Good first ish. MD is lookin hot and dating a Thompson. He's totally gonna go after that other chick when he realizes that Mays not gonna put out. Also, it's always good to see Hob show up. 3 out of 5.

Catwoman #60 - A jail Break! Giant Monkey Rampage!! Skin tight leather on one of the hottest MILFs in comics!!! What's not to love? Also, i'm starting to like this Film Freak guy. Crazy sumb***h. And now he's gonna take a scene from one of the true classics of film. Can't wait for the next ish. 4 out of 5.

X-Factor #12 - Love this book. Always will. Now we know what really going on. And Madrox's dupe of impulsive decisions is dead....maybe. I saw in a Wizard once where they had an Evil Madrox in a possible new Brotherhood. I don't know, sounds kinda interesting to me. Another Good issue. Can't wait for the next one. 4 out of 5.

Birds of Prey #99 - Well, another chapter in BOP closes, and we see Black Canary leave the team. What with her new kid and the JLA, I guess she doesn't have time to beat up bad guys and bulls**t with the girls. Sad to see her go, but if the news of who may be joining up soon is true, I'll find a way to get over it. Also, I liked that Batgirl wanna be. Crazy kid was kinda funny. I think I heard she's supposed to be a new character calling herself Misfit or something. Looking forward to seeing more of her in the future. 4 out of 5.

Well, that's it for now. I'll get back with the others later.

 

[Anubis]

Okay, finished:

Wildcats #1
Ms. Marvel #8
52 Week 24
The Authority #1
Union Jack #2
Batman and the Mad Monk #3
Wolverine #47
Ultimate Fantastic Four #35

Wildcats #1 - Decent first ish. More of a where we left off sort of deal. I guess this takes place before the events of Captain Atom Armageddon? Not sure. Good to see voodoo and Hadrian doing a little Vison/Wanda horizontal robo polka. Sex seen through a heat sensor is always entertaining. 3 out of 5.

Ms. Marvel #8 - Pretty brutal issue. But I didn't really feel the emotion of the issue. I had just jumped on this book around issue 7. Not sure I wanna stick around. 3 out of 5.

52 Week 24 - Okay I guess. Boy, Super Chief didn't last long. Good to see Bulleteer again. Love the shiny rack. More continuity problems with Ollie Queen. And we get to see the power of the P through the whole Isis/Black Adam plot. I wonder what would happen if Ambush Bug and Deadpool got together? It would be the greatest comic ever! 3 out of 5.

The Authority #1 - Well, an entire issue and the team didn't even show up. This happens too often in comics these days. Well, at least we got to see the tell tale sign of they're presence. Decapitated bad guys. Always cool. I give it a 2 out of 5 but it I'm taking away a point because the freaking team didn't even make an appearance in the first issue.

Union Jack #2 - I really like this character. Tough SOB. Kicking the assess of Super villains left and right. The guys a bad ass. Didn't care for the constant exposition from various characters. This ain't the 60's. I caught the first issue, I already know Arabian Knights Carpet acts as a bullet proof vest. No need to say it every time he shows up. 4 out of 5.

Batman and the Mad Monk #3 - Not as good as Batman and the Monster men, but entertaining non the less. The Monks making a move on Bat's girl and her crazy ass father's money. And the Bat's not finding any leads in the case. This mad Monk guy doesn't seem very interesting to me. He seems like your average dime store vampire or vampire wanna be. 3 out of 5.

Wolverine #47 - Really good issue here. The whole Sentry thing did however seem like it had little purpose other than to show how much more powerful Bob is than the fur ball and how bad ass Wolverine was by eventually escaping Shield Custody. A momentary distraction really. Did like the way he just killed that guy right on the street in front of all those people. 4 out of 5.

UFF #35 - I enjoyed this. I really enjoy Carey's writing and Pasqual Ferry is a phenomenal artist. Loved his work on that Adam Strange Mini from a few years back, good to see him doing space and super science again. The biggest thing to come out of this though is the appearance of Ultimate Ronan the Accuser, and Ultimate Thanos. Ronan looks like just some guy, but Thanos, not bad I must say. Not bad at all. 4 out of 5.

Ronan

Thanos

Kinda reminds me of Mongol for some reason.

 

[Darthphere]

Why was Wolverine under SHIELD custody?

 

[Anubis]

He was taking down Damage Control against orders, so they sent a team after him lead by Bob, to bring him in.

 

[Darthphere]

Hmmm, I see.

 

[Anubis]

They apparently were gonna try and use this to gain more control over him. The guy that was running Damage Control was close friends with a lot of important people, including the president. So, he used his influence to force SHIELD to take him down. Director Hill thought she could offer him a deal. Shape up and work directly for them, or go to the gulag for a long, long, long time. But she f**ked up thinking a power dampening coller would stop his claws.

 

[Darthphere]

Yeah, I dont know, from what im hearing Guggenheim is playing up this conspiracy angle a bit too much.

 

[Anubis]

Not really. It's still just that *****e that had taken control of Damage Controls fault. Or at least partially his fault. I think the point was to show how everybody seems to be running around with blinders on. Blaming everything on the heroes, while the real bad guys are profiting from it. I mean, Hill knew what he was up to and said she couldn't do anything.

 

[yenaled]

Checkmate #7 -Good ish. Couple of more villains died. None of which will be missed. They got a new Tattooed Man already, and Johns created him so, they were just getting this loser out of the way. And Javelin or whatever the hell his name was, who cares, besides Germans I guess. Now if they hada killed off Icicle, I woulda been pissed. One of the most underrated villains in comics in my opinion. It's not about powers, but personality. The guys a damn good bad guy. The kind that, if you were a bad guy just starting out in the business, you'd want him to show you the ropes. Bronze Tiger rocks, and Jewley is a f**king nut. 4 out of 5.

Glad to see some love for Icicle (II) he is seriously amongst the my favourite villains at DC.

 

[Anubis]

Yeah, great character. Been a fan since John's first run on JSA.

 

[Tropico]

Why was Wolverine under SHIELD custody?

It's not so much that he was hunting down the Damage Control CEO, but he was breaking a bunch of laws (local, federal and foreign sovereignties) while doing so. Wolverine was NOT registered and was violating that also. Hill told him that if he registered they would make all the charges go away, Wolvie told her to get bent. We all know what happens to non-registered heroes. Wolvie escaped, tracked down the CEO guy. The CEO guy took some MGH, fought Wolverine and lost. Wolverine killed CEO guy on the sidewalk with a bunch of people watching by impaling his face with his claws (it looked more like the used the 2 outer claws to perforate through each eye socket), obviously, we see the gruesome "explosion" as the claws come out the back of the head (in shadows, of course).

 

[Darthphere]

Well thats the part that doesnt make sense to me, Wolverine is already freaking registered with the government.

 

[SpideyInATree]

I will say, however, that Checkmate wasn't as good as I thought it'd be. After the good set-up of the new Suicide Squad last issue, the outcome played out as kind of standard fare.

I agree with this as well. The first issue of the arc set up something pretty cool but this latest issue just didn't deliver. There was a lot of dead villains though.

This was an all right week of comics. 52 was pretty good as usual. I just laughed my ass off that last week we saw the debut of The Super Chief and he freakin' DIED this week, the shortest reign EVER.

Flash disappointed me big time. The last two issues were really improving but this issue just took a couple steps back. I'll finish out this arc but as long as these writers are on this title I'll be dropping it until a new writer enters the fray. And a writer that will make good Flash stories again as opposed to this mediocrity-fest.

Spider-Girl's reboot was a nice treat. Good down to earth storytelling with a good transition between the ending of Volume 1 and the beginning of Volume 2, plus Hobgoblin is more brutal than ever. Everyone should be reading this title, and if you're not than your a poo poo face, and that's a really bad thing to be.

Batman and the Mad Monk continues it's reign of superiority among the Bat-titles, in my opinion. Even though Julie Madison is now in contention for "dumbest woman ever" this wasn't a bad installment of the miniseries. I'm loving the nods to Batman's early days, with the appearances of Carmine Falcone, Sal Maroni, and Harvey Dent (pre-Two Face). If you are into Batman you should be reading this, and if you're not into Batman and want to be I'd recommend this...and Wagner's previous jaunt...Batman and the Monster Men.

Robin was pretty good. Nothing stellar or fantasmic, but a decent Robin story. The side character Dodge, as annoying as he was, didn't deserve the fate that he suffered at the end of this issue.

Ghost Rider was decent. The artwork is worth the price of admission and even though this isn't a storyline that is flooring me I'm going to stick around to see where this all goes. And for the Mark Texeira artwork.

100 Bullets was decent. It's seriously upping the ante of the entire build up of the series as all the Minutemen are coming together for a giant clusterf*** of craziness. I HIGHLY recommend this series to anyone and everyone. Buy those trades and read this book because it's one of the best being published on the shelves today.

And didn't read Runaways yet as I'm still missing # 20, I can't find it anywhere...and Midtown sold out of it.

 

[hippie_hunter]

52 Week Twenty-Four (DC Comics): 52 keeps on hitting. This time with both seriousness and humor. In this issue this is a perfect blend. While you see the Martian Manhunter carve out a memorial dedicated to the Leaguers who have died (such as Booster Gold, Blue Beetle, Barry Allen, Tommorrow Woman, Aztek, Sue Dibny, rocket Red, General Glory, Maxima, both Crimson Foxes, Hippolyta, you know, there's a lot of Leaguers from the International era. DC really is serious on killing them off ). The humor comes from Firestorm's new Justice League, or his pathetic attempt at forming a new one. He invites freaking Ambush Bug for Christ sakes (who goes off crying "Mommy"). Lex Luthor's metagene program is getting out of hand and Skeets is a little bastard. Please DC, after this is done, continue with the weekly books, it's working 5/5

Birds of Prey #99 (DC Comics): Oracle shows "Batgirl" why being a superhero is not in her league. It was nice to see Stephanie Brown mentioned in a non-Batman book. It provided some good humor with "Batgirl" thinking how she'll be popular with heroes such as Batman and Superman and newspaper headlines talking about how awesome she is and she even has here own MySpace. Though Black Canary leaves, which pisses me off. Black Canary should be on both the Justice League of America and Birds of Prey 3/5

Civil War: X-Men #4 (Marvel Comics): Why was this book involved with Civil War. It was just an X-Men story involving the 198 and Decimation that took place during Civil War. And a lot of stories are taking place during Civil War and are not Civil War tie-ins (She-Hulk's "Civil Union," Annihilation, Uncanny X-Men's "Rise and Fall of the Shi'ar Empire, Cable and Deadpool's "The Domino Principle," Daredevil's "The Devil Takes a Ride," the Eternals, and others). This was just a lame and unecessary attempt to put the X-Men in the Civil War event. Though the story was decent and it was nice to see Iron Man act like a hero for once. It's nice to see the mutants get something nice from the government, instead of something that'll screw them over. And this story has made me want see Angel and Iceman be put onto the Astonishing X-Men team with Cyclops and Beast. Good points aside, it doesn't help the fact that this is the weakest tie-in of Civil War. 2.5/5

Creeper # 3 (of 6) (DC Comics): I'm liking this take on the Creeper. The art fits perfectly with the book and the writing is good. Though Batman's appearance in the book still feels rather pointless, but it also feels like his point will come sooner or later (instead of having pointless cameos everywhere like Wolverine, whom I like to call ****everine) 3/5

the Flash: The Fastest Man Alive #5 (DC Comics): It's about f**king time that this arc is getting along. The book's okay, but it should be much, much better. And even though I'd rather have Wally as the Flash, I can get used to Bart being the Flash. At least this series is getting better 3/5

Ms. Marvel #8 (Marvel Comics): The Civil War tie-in concludes and it's nice to see that this book has given a rather fair and balanced perspective on the Superhuman Registration Act. It shows that there are greys to both the Superhuman Task Force and those who oppose the Superhuman Registration Act such as the Secret Avengers, Arachne, and others. Instead of villainizing the Superhuman Task Force like in Frontline, Ms. Marvel somewhat villainized those who opposed the Superhuman Registration Act by having Arachne send several people into the hospital and had the potential to hurt many others. However, I'm not continuing with this book past Civil War. 3/5

Wolverine #47 (Marvel Comics): The Wolverine tie-in to Civil War is about to conclude and it's good to see Declune to get what he deserves. It was awesome to see Wolverine escape from the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier, noting that his claws are not a superpower. Instead of focusing on the aftermath of Samford like Civil War and the other tie-ins do, Wolverine focused on the responsibility of the act, which was a good perspective if you ask me. The writing was great, but god damn did that art suck, it was really, really bad (though Ramos draws a good Maria Hill). 4/5

Pick of the Week
Cable and Deadpool #33 (Marvel Comics):
"No, G.I. Joe, don't do that to Barbie...it's so very, very, wrong...Uhm...I wasn't dereaming anything too embarrassing, was I?"
"No. Not by your standards, no."
"Cool. So...What's up?"
With Civil War over, Cable and Deadpool have now been divorced. A very messy one apparently. The book now returns to Rumekistan and Cable's takeover of the country and it continues to be one of my favorites. Deadpool's getting even with Nate for the loss of his shiney new badge. This book nails both the serious and humorous aspects of comic book writing (such as Domino having second feelings about tarnishing Cable for practically no reason) 5/5

 

[Dread]

I just noticed a little something off about the ending to WOLVERINE #47, and no, it's not the fact that Wolverine broke a lot of laws and isn't being hunted down in the street by "cape killer" units at the same time as Prowler gets taken down just for wearing a cape. It concerns the bit with Miss Sharpe at Stamford at the end with Logan thanking him for going after Nitro and seeing that he got some measure of payback, as well as going after the "war profitters".

The problem? From how Mark Millar created and has written her in CIVIL WAR, she never once held anyone other than superheroes responsible for Stamford and the death of her son. Her first scene is spitting at Stark for "endorsing" the "lawless" actions of the New Warriors. Her entire stance seems to be that unregistered, lawless heroes either provoke supervillian attacks or create potential "time-bombs". Never at any time has she even mentioned the name "Nitro" when talking about responsibility. Heck, in the DAILY BUGLE SPECIAL she all but gives him a pass because Nitro was seemingly a devoted fan of "lawless" heroes as a kid, seemingly proving her theory (although I could be wrong, I haven't read that special in ages). My point is that Sharpe has never even hinted at holding Nitro and not superheroes responsible for Stamford, so that bit at the end of WOLVERINE #47 seemed off when you compare it to the rest of her appearences.

In a way, the problem is not that the writer maybe didn't get a memo, but because he intended to show a very human scene with a character like Sharpe who was not made to be human, but to act as a political mouthpiece in CW, an instagator. She very much serves the role that some "anti-war" activists go when they claim that terrorists really don't exist and that the "extremists" in the Middle East would be as sweet as teddy bears if only nasty Americans didn't "provoke" them (of course, tell that to the Danish cartoonists marked for death for daring to draw their Prophet; if anyone believes drawing a cartoon should lead to death, Die Furher is waiting. Lord knows Catholics have their faith mocked almost on a monthly basis without reacting like that). It's kind of like when Kirkman wrote X-23 in MTU and was technically inaccurate because he chose to write her with a personality and reactions like a normal teenage girl...when X-23 is in fact a near emotionless killing machine who doesn't have normal human reactions. I just felt it was worth mentioning. It would be a very human thing for Sharpe to at least want to see Nitro arrested and held accountable; the problem was in her past appearences she's only held the New Warriors and vigilantes accountable. Nitro all but got a pass from her, much like Cletus Kassidy got a pass from Spider-Man during MAXIMUM CARNAGE for being an abused child, even to the point of Spidey claiming Kassidy was "the most innocent of all", despite the fact that he'd just slaughtered dozens of people for no real reason aside for amusement.

Aside for that and Ramos' art, though, I've enjoyed the Wolverine tie-in overall, even if the writer makes the mistake of making Logan pretty much unkillable, so the suspence in even losing battles is nil. Bits of it were crude but it's a Wolverine actioner, what do you want? While I didn't like the concept of DAMAGE CONTROL getting dragged into the mud and made "nefarious", at least he explained it by some newcomer taking control and warping them vs. them just being all-out evil. It could have been worse.

 

[hippie_hunter]

I like Guggenheim's "more human" Miriam Sharpe much more, than Millar's "instigator" Sharpe. Millar's Sharpe makes me think that she's up to something. Guggenheim's Sharpe actually seems like a reasonable person who's been affected by the Samford tragety.

Now that I think about it, Ramos draws a nice Sharpe also. Though asides from Thor, Sharpe, and Maria Hill, the rest of his art sucks major assage. Especially Wolverine.

 

[Dread]

I like Guggenheim's "more human" Miriam Sharpe much more, than Millar's "instigator" Sharpe. Millar's Sharpe makes me think that she's up to something. Guggenheim's Sharpe actually seems like a reasonable person who's been affected by the Samford tragety.

Agreed, much as I preferred Kirkman's MTU X-23 to just about every version of her done by the creators of her, because then she's just flat and boring to me. But I just felt it was worth mentioning. Millar is great for action stories and snappy interplay but when it comes to writing characters as CHARACTERS and not means to an end to the plot, he's hit and miss.