Bought Thought October 24th

[SouLeSS]

And because of that you won't pick up the first issue to even see if it's any different? Nice logic.

 

[GNR]

Black Summer #3 - After an action packed opening,I'm glad to see the change in pace.I liked the team interaction.It was funny how different the exchanges were between Tom and Dom with Dom connected and then not connect to his guns.Zoe was right about all of them being insane or at least on edge after being hooked up for so long.The final pages looked gorgeous and there is no way Tom is dead,I think he was just trying to prove a point.Ellis and Ryp are pumping out one hell of a book.

Green Lantern #24 - Review proof.Epic,grand and bombastic.A true comic book epic which is surprisingly a good 2 years from being done.Kyle's new outfit is such a step up from his previous duds.

Daredevil #101 - Bru wasn't lying when he said courtroom drama would take centerstage after #100.I for one enjoy all the legal drama,it just brings the point home that even though Matt is DD,he can't fix everything with the red suit.I really want to see Brubaker write for a courtroom tv show in the future.

Thunderbolts #117 - The madness continues.Loved the sequence with Samson showing his true emotions.The main draw of this book is all of the f***ed up personalities it contains.Samson's talk with Penance was well done and meaningful.I fully expected Samson to tear him a new one.Tommy Lee Jones as Osborn continues to entertain,his quiet moments of madness in his office have been a highlight of this series.That last page was no different.

 

[PhotoJones]

Why the hell did you repost your reviews in the same thread?

And because of that you won't pick up the first issue to even see if it's any different? Nice logic.

Yes, because shelling out $3 for a crappy book is flawless logic. There are too many great books that earn my money every week. This one won't be one of them.

 

[GNR]

to stop the violence

 

[SouLeSS]

You don't even know if it earns your money, you just assume it's going to suck based off a track record.

 

[PhotoJones]

You don't even know if it earns your money, you just assume it's going to suck based off a track record.

I can flip through it at the shop, can't it?

 

[SouLeSS]

Yeah, and I can flip through something like IIF and not like it, but then sit down and read it and be amazed at how good it actually is.

 

[PhotoJones]

If you can flip through IIF and not like it, you've got problems.

 

[SouLeSS]

If you can flip through Gotham Underground and not like it, you've got problems.

 

[PhotoJones]

If you can flip through Gotham Underground and not like it, you've got problems.

That's the saddest thing I've read today.

 

[SouLeSS]

You saying I have bad taste because I bought a book that has some of my favorite characters all together in it mearly because you don't like the art, and don't like the write is the saddest thing you should have read, but then again, I don't expect you to actually read what you write sometimes.

 

[PhotoJones]

You saying I have bad taste because I bought a book that has some of my favorite characters all together in it mearly because you don't like the art, and don't like the write is the saddest thing you should have read, but then again, I don't expect you to actually read what you write sometimes.

Looks to me like you're the one not reading what you're writing, huh?

 

[SouLeSS]

Spelling mistakes and having no sense of logic arn't even on the same scale. But nice try.

 

[PhotoJones]

Spelling mistakes and having no sense of logic arn't even on the same scale. But nice try.

Why are you taking this so personal? I don't like Tieri's writing or Calafiore's art, I'll most likely be passing on that book. What's it to you? If you liked it, fine.

By the way, you misspelled another word.

 

[Prognosticator]

So this is literally the biggest week I've had since I started buying monthlies. Last week was a small one, 4 books, one on a whim (Zombies II), which was foiled by a need for more bags/boards, so it hit the normal 30$ mark. This week though? 55$. No bags, boards, or anything that wasn't even ON my pull list, and I didn't even PICK UP some of the stuff I wanted to. Gotta love it.

More on the way. Maybe,

Sucks to be your wallet!

 

[Roughneck]

WWH What If? - Good fun read....the best part was the second story....with banner vs the Hulk on the peaceful planet.

She Hulk#22 - Peter David does a good job with Shulkie....it almost has a bit of a slotty feel too it, but if this first issue is anything to go by I'll be staying on the book....even though I thought I was gona drop it....Plus better art then Marvel everl gave to Slott on the book.

 

[Dread]

It was a small week, but more expensive than it should with three $4 purchases, only one of which I would agree wholeheartedly was worth it. I've had far, FAR better weeks.

As always, full spoilers. But most of the comics I got this week weren't important enough that spoilers should offend anyone anyway. Or maybe I am just bummed because it is raining. And INVINCIBLE #46 has been running weeks behind.

Dread's BOUGHT/THOUGH for 10/24/07:

BLUE BEETLE #20: Easily one of the best books I bought this week, maybe even THE best, and it wasn't even the best that this series had to offer. This is a tie-in with yet another better selling event/franchise, this case the Sinestro Corps stuff. I don't read any of that so the best I know is that Sinestro is making his own yellow, evil versions of the Green Lantern Corps and making bad **** go down. Should we expect some Polka-Dot Lanterns eventually? Anyway, from a business standpoint, I can understand the endless string of guest appearences and tie-in attempts with BLUE BEETLE; it's sales are horrible. Marvel would have cancelled it at least 6-10 issues ago. But DC has more mercy for some struggling mainstream universe titles and for that I am grateful because this book is fun. Despite the tie-in, Rogers tries to make the book count in terms of the actual Blue Beetle storyline, and in this case the history with Peacemaker and The Reach comes to a head. One of Sinestro's evil yellow rings seeks out a new wearer, and it selects Peacemaker. Seeking to capitalize on the Sinestro War to dominate Earth, the Reach activate Peacemaker's beetle-scarab to unleash a full destructive monster for the Sinestro Empire (essentially, the Reach want to trade an unbeatable warrior for the right to dominate Earth from Sinestro). Naturally, Jamie isn't about to allow this and dashes to the rescue, and his only assistance is from Brik, one of those random GL Corps-people. I am actually surprised the book didn't have a bigger guest star; Guy Gardner has shown up at least twice, but even Kilowogg may have been fun. Maybe they couldn't because of continuity and DC actually cares about that sometimes? Who knows. Despite that, the story is a rollicking good adventure story with Jamie essentially facing a being much like himself if he wasn't as noble or willing to battle against darker instincts. There isn't as much amusing banter this time around as the story is more serious, but there are some notable lines, and I liked Brik's "how dare you speak of Gardner's name" line. That Guy is a bad-ass. And "The Infiltrator" has some decent lines as well. It comes down to a redemption story for Peacemaker, as Jamie helps him overcome the forces making him a monster (at least for now), and Christopher Smith (Peacemaker's real name) tearing out the scarab from his spine and seeming to die to prevent his own darkness from endangering others again. I actually hope Peacemaker lives because his buddy-banter with Jamie was one of the highlights of the series. It would be like Booster Gold without Ted Kord...oh, wait, never mind. I am used to Albuquerque's art and it's become part of the series to me. If this is the end, at least Peacemaker went out for a noble cause. This is one of the few DC books I have been getting regularly but it is one I have been enjoying. Good characters, some great dialogue, kinetic art, superhero action, can't go wrong.

ANNIHILATION CONQUEST: WRAITH #4: The first of the AC tie-in mini's to end, WRAITH (or as I dub him, Space-Emo) comes to an action packed end as Wraith, Super-Skrull, and Praxagora manage to stop the Phalanx's scheme to use the undead Supreme Intelligence to automatically enslave every last Kree in the galaxy, but at a heavy cost to Ra-Venn's little rebel group (honestly, the space-faring pirate ship is ridiculous and just smacks of too many nights playing FINAL FANTASY games for Grillo-Marxuach). The process also frees Ronan the Accuser and sets Wraith on the path of the other heroes against this threat. His father had apparently manipulated him all along to go on this quest to stop the Phalanx, or at least to serve their god-figure, the Supreme Intelligence (whose "soul" Wraith has absorbed, or something). Taken as a whole, I have the feeling that Grillo-Marxuach made the mistake of believing his creation was so cool that he tried a little too hard to express that. Taken a little objectively, Wraith is filling the role of Drax from the last time, as a random warrior type whose mission to kill one man has become entangled with a galaxy-destroying threat and he is forced to ally with other champions. Drax was far more interesting in this role as Wraith will ever be, and his homaging to Clint Eastwood's "Man With No Name" Western character is LITERALLY spelled out at the final page (as if the tunic wasn't a dead giveaway). On an optimistic side, though, new characters are always difficult to infuse into the mainstream, and many times will have bumps to them that need time, experience, maybe even another writer's take, to smooth over. Declaring Wraith a misfire as a character after 4 issues would be a bit hasty, especially since these 4 issues were plenty entertaining. Wraith reminds me slightly of Raziel from the LEGACY OF KAIN video game series, although how I am not entirely sure. Drax is busy with NOVA right now so Wraith will have to sub for him in the ANNIHILATION CONQUEST mini-series (which seems to be setting up Quasar, Starlord, and Wraith as their core figures, along with Super-Skrull, Moondragon, Prax, and Ronan). The question will be if the rookie can pull off a big play for the veteran in a month or so. Hotz's art has appeal and I liked Super-Skrull's ploy that got the trio inside, and I liked that it was mentioned that the Kree still worship the Supreme Intelligence as a god figure, which makes sense (they were ruled by him/it until very recently, after all), and seeing Ronan beg for an honorable death was something. This wasn't a bad ride, and I'll be waiting to see if Wraith gets a "moment" in the core mini.

FOOLKILLER #1: Writer Gregg Hurwitz apparently told Newsarama that he really wanted to write THE PUNISHER, but there just wasn't any room for him, so he essentially picked Foolkiller as being "Punisher-enough" and going with it. He promised "this book will be as close to a Punisher book without The Punisher". And that is fair and good for those in the audience who enjoy violent revenge stories (as I do many times), but is it good for The Foolkiller? The last time the character got a mini-series was in 1990-1991, a run I read last year. There are simularities between the characters but there are differences; most especially that The Punisher usually sticks to murdering actual criminals (especially mobsters), while The Foolkiller kills those he deems "fools", some of whom may not have actually committed any actual crimes (such as an obnoxious, manipulating and society-deadening talk show host in his last series), or corporate types who were doing things that were morally wrong but not legally wrong. Foolkiller also has a signature weapon, a "purification" gun that disintegrates people instantly (if aimed at a major body part, like the torso). This first issue has none of that. Instead it offers the story of a washed up athlete turned loan-shark whose bad luck (or sticky fingers for cash) cost him his hand and the lives of his wife and daughter at the hands of violent thugs. With only an ill daughter left to protect (as well as his own life), he seeks out the urban myth vigilante called the Foolkiller. Hurwitz acknowledges the past versions of the character by having some hospital workers discuss the vigilante and mention his prior forms, such as the "Zorro-esque" costume he used to wear, the ray-gun, and the '91 incarnation, which was Kurt Gerhardt, who "used to work for Burger Clown". The Gerhardt version was since seen as an inmate of The Raft (after he has altered his looks via acid and fled to Arizona at the end of his 1991 series) and declaring an irrational vengence against Spider-Man (who in issue #8 of the '91 series, he only has a near-miss encounter with). Anyway, this first issue has the Foolkiller delivering vengence to criminals and the morally corrupt, whether it be lacrosse players who rape women, corrupt CEO's under investigation, or other low lives. This time, instead of the ray-gun, he seems to have a sword and a nasty dog (a rot). The old Foolkiller left calling cards on his victims, but this time they are different. The man shown as Foolkiller at the end of the issue may be Gerhardt, or may not; if so, he has no facial scars and seems to have added another 20-30 lbs of muscle. Foolkiller has been a "legacy" character so the concept of this series about a new 4th man with the mantle would not be so strange. Just it might mean we have two Foolkillers about. This series is pretty violent and has a lot of mature language, earning that MAX tag. Now, part of me wants to like this. The other part can't get around the fact that Hurwitz really just wants to write The Punisher, and he merely chose Foolkiller because he was the closest thing; that is shallow and part of that shows. Lan Medina's art, on the other hand, is terrific. I'd love to see him on mainstream Marvel work. He's easily better than Finch ever was, and Finch got to draw New Avengers for chrissakes. This also isn't nearly as good as TERROR, INC. to me. I may, key word being MAY, give this another issue, but if that doesn't seem to gel I may skip the rest.

MOON KNIGHT #13: This title is losing me steadily, even moreso than Ultimate X-Men seems to. This is a double sized issue that costs an extra buck, and I really regretted the money. It has work by a third artist in 13 issues, Coker, and I don't care for it. His tone is too dark even for this, distinguishing many of his figures is not easy, and he just comes off as a poor man's Maleev. To cap this off, it makes Moon Knight's status in terms of the SHRA even more wonky than it was before. To recap, during the last arc, which was inflated maybe twice as long as it should have been due to late CW tie-ins, Moon Knight was considered too crazy to be useful to the Initiative, which is stupid because they just have been using nanobots on maniacs like Norman Osborn, Bullseye, and Venom, but instead of bringing him in, like the "cape-killers" did to Prowler or no end of other heroes, they just moniter him with an agent/detective assigned to his case, allowing Moon Knight to happily maim and cripple crooks (some as small-time as overly aggressive fathers). To me it seemed like trying to find a way to keep the tone of the book the same while keeping Moon Knight current, but it fit awkwardly. This issue makes it more awkward with Khonshu suggesting that Specter join the Initiative and register to get the feds off his back. He has an interview with a shrink and literally goes through all his personalities, the highlight of the issue that shows just how really, REALLY F'd up Moon Knight is, as well as going over his sporatic powers. It ends with Khonshu scaring the agent enough into giving Moon Knight some legalized papers, which he stuffs into the mouth of some thug released on a technicality anyway. The rest of the issue also follows Jean-Paul, Marlene and her new boyfriend (and some muggers), and Specter's new errand boy. I didn't like the art and the rest just sort of droned on me. I didn't love it or hate it when I put it down, I just had a sort of blase' "meh" to it, and then it hit me that I paid $4 for a "meh" comic book when I have paid $3 for countless great ones from other titles. This issue seems to conclude that Huston's intentions on the book were good but things aren't clicking. However, #14 has a new writer and artist team coming in, and I am debating giving their first issue a shot (the sneak peak at the art looks great). Huston wanted to make MK matter more to the MU, but frankly after 13 issues, he has failed. He has created a sporatically entertaining and disjointed dark vigilante book, which have been a dime a dozen at times (like the aforementioned FOOLKILLER). I like that he has brought him back and played with the psychological angles a lot, but he's decompressed and many times awkward in his pacing. If Huston was back for #14, I'd be dumping it now with no regrets. With the new team coming on, though, I may be curious to see if they can improve on Huston's foundation. Key word being "may".

X-MEN: FIRST CLASS #5: To paraphrase a Vaughan line from RUNAWAYS: "A Hulk appearance. How novel." In this issue, just in time to perhaps try to mooch some buzz off of WORLD WAR HULK, the Green Goliath guest-stars. At this point the only obligatory team-up's left with be with Capt. America or Spider-Man. I don't remember what issue of what comic it was when the UXM first met The Hulk. Anyway, this issue offers a simple story, as they always do; Hulk is stompin' stuff, the military wants him contained, and the X-Men are tasked with doing so. A fight ensues, and it ends when Rick helps talk them down, and Xavier realizes the military wants to control the Hulk and utilize him as a weapon, and provokes him to that end. Cruz is back on art after a break last issue and it still is as kinetic as ever. Parker keeps the tone light and the quips many, and Cyclops gets in a few good blasts. It is another guilty pleasure fun issue. I really don't see what use this has to the line at large other than to be MA X-Men (yet it tries to insert itself into Silver Age continuity), but it usually is a light-hearted superhero romp that isn't overloaded with X-characters (as well as tries to tell Silver Age stories in a more modern way, as many of those original Lee/Kirby tales haven't aged well). I'd love to see Jeff Parker move onto better things, though.

I also got the ALL-NEW OFFICIAL HANDBOOK OF THE MARVEL UNIVERSE A-Z UPDATE #4, which upon a flipping looks great, with plenty of Bio's on some longtime characters. These are always worth the $4.

 

[Colossal Spoons]

X-Men #204 - Pretty good, def a lot of Messiah Complex set-up stuff. Too bad I found the end of the Endangered Species minis to be extremely anti-climactic 7/10

Green Lantern Corps #17 - Lethal Force FTW! That's all I got to say 9/10

Wraith #4 - Good ending to the his mini. Glad Ronan's finally free, though he's bein a bit of a sissy***** now 7/10

Cable/Deadpool #46 - Alright issue, glad this arc got wrapped up. Bob is a trip lol. 7/10

Thunderbolts #117 - I don't get how people can dislike Ellis on this book. Penance is F'n crazy and I think Doc Samson is too 8/10

Flash #233 - I'm kicking myself. I waited too long to get into the Flash. I didn't get to read too much of Wally before he died. I was diggin Bart, then they aged him and killed him. Now Wally's book is putting my to sleep. I don't care about his family....AT ALL. 4/10

Teen Titans #52 - This book has been getting a lot batter since issue 50. Kid Devil and Miss Martian really need to get training b/c they've got potential in the future I don't like Cassie anymore 8/10

 

[sandwraith]

Did no one pick up What if?:Planet Hulk

 

[Colossal Spoons]

Thunderbolts #117 - The madness continues.Loved the sequence with Samson showing his true emotions.The main draw of this book is all of the f***ed up personalities it contains.Samson's talk with Penance was well done and meaningful.I fully expected Samson to tear him a new one.Tommy Lee Jones as Osborn continues to entertain,his quiet moments of madness in his office have been a highlight of this series.That last page was no different.

Thought I was the only one who made that connection

 

[Marcdachamp]

Thunderbolts- PICK OF THE WEEK! I'm not sure whose departure would suck worse, Deodato or Ellis, because both these guys rock. Loved the little flashback moment with Moonstone fighting Doc Samson. This book continues to impress me every month. 9/10

Ultimate Spider-Man- Immonen rocks, Kitty rocks. What more can I say? I think this is the most I've been excited for this book in, well, ever. 9/10

Moon Knight- Damn. I can safely say this was the best issue of this book so far. The art ROCKED (reminded me of Maleev), and the story was great. Huston's biggest problem has been making the story very disconnected. With a nice, straight-forward plot, he's put something together that's better than his whole run. I kept thinking Moon Knight would make a very cool movie. Nice to see that the multiple personalities are gonna make a come back. 9/10

X-Men- Why can't Choi get a regular X-Book? He really impressed me this issue. Nice little downtime issue before the storm. My hopes are high for Messiah Complex. I really hope it lives up to the build-up. 8/10

Daredevil- Called the ending, but that's okay, because this was very good. Nice to see Matt use Daredevil for more than just busting heads. Very solid issue. I'm not sure how Matt's gonna take care of this case. 8/10

Cable and Deadpool- I'm really gonna miss this book, but Nicieza's clearly setting something up for Wade and Bob. I'm pumped to see it, whatever it is. 8/10

Black Panther- I really thought this issue was gonna rock from my quick flip-through. The art's great, and I thought we were gonna see something cool from Psycho-Man. Alas, I was wrong. I really liked the last arc, but I'm sick of these damn frogs already. 4/10

 

[Dread]

Moon Knight- Damn. I can safely say this was the best issue of this book so far. The art ROCKED (reminded me of Maleev), and the story was great. Huston's biggest problem has been making the story very disconnected. With a nice, straight-forward plot, he's put something together that's better than his whole run. I kept thinking Moon Knight would make a very cool movie. Nice to see that the multiple personalities are gonna make a come back. 9/10

Hmm, your first impressions of the oversized, standalone issue were far better than mine.

I mean it was nice to get a Huston story that wasn't stretched out. In that case I am glad we got this all in one issue rather than two or even three. I didn't like the art, though. Without speech balloons I'd have never known who everyone was aside for Marlene and Moon Knight himself, which is a problem. Plus, the whole attempt to shove MK into the Initiative story has not worked well for me. The run just seems awkward. The stuff I like is mixed with a lot of stuff I don't.

It is either morbid curiosity or faith in the franchise that I want to see what the new creative team brings to things, especially since Moon Knight has few notable villains, and two of them are dead now.

 

[Colossal Spoons]

Cable and Deadpool- I'm really gonna miss this book, but Nicieza's clearly setting something up for Wade and Bob. I'm pumped to see it, whatever it is. 8/10

I'd LOOOOVE it if Wade and Hayden got their own book. There's an Agent X-size void in my life. Taskmaster can make regular cameos

 

[Marcdachamp]

Hmm, your first impressions of the oversized, standalone issue were far better than mine.

I mean it was nice to get a Huston story that wasn't stretched out. In that case I am glad we got this all in one issue rather than two or even three. I didn't like the art, though. Without speech balloons I'd have never known who everyone was aside for Marlene and Moon Knight himself, which is a problem. Plus, the whole attempt to shove MK into the Initiative story has not worked well for me. The run just seems awkward. The stuff I like is mixed with a lot of stuff I don't.

It is either morbid curiosity or faith in the franchise that I want to see what the new creative team brings to things, especially since Moon Knight has few notable villains, and two of them are dead now.

I liked the idea that anyone can apply for the license, and the help Spector had to get it. He's a really ****ed up individual, but I don't think we're really seeing that as much as we could. I'm really hoping that the new team takes advantage of this opportunity.

Spoons, as long as I get some Wade fix, I'm happy. I do miss Cable, though.

 

[Dread]

I liked the idea that anyone can apply for the license, and the help Spector had to get it. He's a really ****ed up individual, but I don't think we're really seeing that as much as we could. I'm really hoping that the new team takes advantage of this opportunity.

I did mention that sequence was the highlight of the issue.

A new creative team could work well with it, so long as things aren't as decompressed and they manage to improve on the stuff Huston wasn't able to. They need a Brubaker approach to some of his remaining rogues.