Bought/Thought September 4th, 2008

[CaptainCanada]

Part I

Fables #75

Bill Willingham's creator-owned property hits its seventy-fifth issue (supersized, also including that hallmark of such expanded installments, a bunch of random pinups from various artists), one that promised to really shake up the Fables' status quo. And it surely does that; I'm just not sure how well it's done. I've had a lot of reservations about "The Good Prince", the preceding arc, which was too long and not overly dramatic; the succeeding Cinderella two-parter was a lot better; now we get "War and Pieces", which is too short and not overly dramatic. The confrontation with the Empire has basically been building since the first issue, and the Fables' victory is just way too easy. The Empire folds like a house of cards. The promise of a new status quo involving the reclamation of the Homelands is quite promising, but I can't help but feel that this is a letdown. Then there's the handling of Geppetto, who is jokily taken to Fabletown, "hmmph"ing like an old geezer all the way, and made to sign the Fabletown Compact in lieu of a surrender document, absolving him and making him a citizen of Fabletown, and is then sent to live on the 13th floor. Excuse me, but what? This guy is evil; really evil. He's conquered untold worlds; remember when his armies raped Flycatcher's wife and daughter to death, and killed his sons and his entire kingdom? Willingham has said that the whole series is kind of an Israel/Diaspora analogy: so, imagine that instead of capturing Eichmann, the Mossad captured Hitler, and instead of hanging him for being an evil mass-murderer they made him a citizen and packed him off to a kibbutz.

Green Lantern #34

The "Secret Origins" arc continues here, and, in many ways, seems to have ended here, with one issue left as an epilogue. This has bee a rather on-and-off story arc; a lot of the backstory on Hal and his supporting cast has felt has felt very much like watching the Nth rerun of a rather basic origin story. The new information on the "Blackest Night" prophecy is better; Atrocitus (whose name is deliberately unsubtle, according to Ethan Van Sciver) is a reasonably menacing villain. The interaction between Hal and Sinestro is also quite authentic, and does a good job of showing how the two could have been friends before his fascist rule of Korugar was exposed. I wa wondering if we were going to get to that part of the story here, but it doesn't look like it. Ivan Reis' art is customarily well-done. Next issue promises some sort of confrontation with the Guardians of the Universe (I'm ambivalent about Johns' treatment of these guys; they've been regressed back to their obstructive jerk form for the sake of more "desk sergeant grounds rookie cop" moments, and this angle is pretty tired).

Invincible Iron Man #5

Fraction and Larroca's debut arc hits its penultimate installment here, and, frankly, this story just isn't doing much for me. Fraction's Tony Stark feels about right, but there's a sense that he's trying way too much to make this like the movie (I loved the movie), between the Pepper flirtation (which is totally ignoring her dead husband) and bringing in a Stane as a villain (although Fraction says he was introduced well before he knew he'd be writing this). And Ezekiel is not a very compelling figure; the concept is the next generation of Iron Man, which is interesting, but the character himself isn't especially impressive; he's stuck with some rather annoying would-be-hipster lines of dialogue, and in this (well, last) issue he donned a power suit to complement his biological upgrades, which to me seems to undermine his character concept; if he's supposed to represent the fusion of man and machine, why make him look like any regular Iron Man villain?

 

[fifthfiend]

IM's a shame in that Zeke started out as such a great concept then over the course of a few issues everything that was so great about him went pthbbbbbt.

I mean they were setting him up as techno-villainy for the Web 2.0 era, what isn't there to love (i.e., hate) about that? Dude should be coordinating suicide bombings from Starbucks and sipping a latte as he sends out his weblog-manifesto on how he's open-sourcing Iron Man's tech to the Netocratic masses. He cut open his own chest and plugged a nuclear pile into his heart because in the new era technology doesn't power people, it's the people who power technology! But then instead they just gave him burn wounds and slapped him into a silver body condom like every other maniac nursing a grudge. I dunno.

 

[Ikaris-Eternal]

Fables #75: Well, it certainly wasn't what I was expecting. I would agree that "Good Prince" carried on for too long, where this arc - which was building since the first issue - felt a little rushed.

I expected some more losses from the Fables, and I expected Charming to let the Fables down (like he has every woman eventually) but instead he's the one to give the ultimate sacrifice.

However, the story was not bad by any means. And the Gepetto thing at the end - that is the nature of the Fabletown Contract. Anyone who signs it is forgiven for past wrong-doings. Plus, that was Pinocchio's bargain.

We'll see where they go from here. After 75 issues it was probably time to alter the status quo. I'm glad, though, that Bigby and Blue survive that magic arrow. I will admit my heart went into my throat when they were struck down.

 

[Jennifer Walters]

Spoiler

YAY FOR CORDELIA.

That is all.

 

[Dread]

Average sized week for me, with some B-List books (least in my opinion). Not one of my jazzier weeks. As always, full spoilers. Let's get this over with.

Oh, and how many people accidentally went to their shops out of habit yesterday, only to be bitterly disappointed? Yeah, routine sucks sometimes.

Dread's Bought/Thought for 9/4/08:

END LEAGUE #4: I've been getting this grim, somewhat bi-monthly post-apocalyptic series sporadically. I was actually amazed that my LCS had a copy; usually I need to nab it in Manhattan. Not unlike WANTED, Remender has created a world where the villains, led by the mega-villain Dead Lexington, have taken over the world and only a single team, the "End League", exists. The war is already lost and all the few heroes left can do is survive and maybe help out some people as they travel. In prior issues, a brainwashed-Thor managed to cripple their speedster heroine Blur Girl and kill their Superman cypher, Astonishman (who accidentally caused the world to collapse by overreacting to some aliens). The goddess Divinity goes back home to her pantheon while Soldier American and Prairie Ghost try to save Blur Girl's life.

One annoying hassle with this series is that while it drops a bucketload of exposition in every page because of the "original" characters it stars, but usually neglects to state their FULL codenames. Half the time when I finally learn a character's full name, it is from a recap or the letters page, which after 4 issues is kind of grating. The other major hassle is this story seems more like a string of interesting concepts thrown together to try to make a story out of it, but feels hollow in the middle. There are so many characters and few of them are reaching to the fore. The one with the most focus was Astonishman, and he's dead. Prairie Ghost gets some focus here, but he is more of a cool concept and schtick rather than a character. He manages to waltz into a villain-run town, drag a "healer" out of a bar and escape back to his comrades. It turns out that he's literally a ghost who can't become solid (at least not easily), and he always feels the pain of hunger because he can't eat. This is interesting, but the series jumps around a bit that few moments have time to breathe. Packed to the gills is usually better than slow and plodding, but the middle-ground is best.

Right by the end, Broome apparently ran out of time, and Canete does the art. The styles clash a bit and even the colors are different as Soldier American is randomly faced with a body-snatching villain who takes hold of Blur Girl's form, and then the Ghost's at the end. The dilemma with a series that stars "cyphers" of established characters is that you have to try to make them unique unto themselves without bombarding the reader, and this series fails at it. It also has a bleak tone which is fine for some, but actually feels a bit hollow. Like someone doing a Mark Millar Lite. Remender's creating something new here, or trying, but is showing some inexperience here. He seems to be biting off more than he can handle in 22 pages a month. 4 issues in and I barely know any of the characters, and that isn't good. There's some stuff about Divinity and the gods, but frankly I didn't care a whole lot.

I gave this the ol' college try but my talent for finding 3rd party duds while missing the boat on the good stuff seems to continue. The 3rd party books I decide to hop on at #1 are never EX MACHINA or WALKING DEAD or Y THE LAST MAN. They're stuff like this, which is usually forgettable. Not the worst thing ever, and it has some good moments (Broome's art is pretty good, too), and I have to admit Prairie Ghost is kind of cool. But everything just isn't clicking here. Whether I give it until issue #6, the obligatory trade cut off, depends on a whim on whatever week the next issue ships. If Remender scaled things back a tad, took more time to develop some characters, and made less of them, it would have worked better. In the Silver Age, few teams started with more then 4-5 members for a reason. Jamming in 7+ in 22 pages just short changes all of them.

INVINCIBLE IRON MAN #5: This was probably my favorite book of the week, which goes to show that it is a slow week. That isn't to say I dislike this series. Not at all. I may be a minority, but I barely gave any IM solo a try until the movie, and I hopped on after like a fair-weather fan. Considering I never read Iron Man beyond Handbook bio's and Avenger issues, this series suits my current needs. It has Stark as head of SHIELD but includes enough of what I liked about the movie to keep me satisfied. It isn't as good as the book it replaced from Fraction, THE ORDER, though. Despite the positives, including (for once) Larroca's art, INVINCIBLE IRON MAN can't shake a bit of a generic feeling to it. A feeling of being a B-grade Superhero yarn. And while, hey, a B is above average, it hardly is the sort of thing that legendary runs are made of. In hindsight, DIRECTOR OF SHIELD might have been more my style. But, it's far too late for that road.

That all said, this issue was my favorite of the last bunch of them. You know why? Because if I have a weakness, it is that I like a good, pulse-pounding action sequence. 85% of the issue is one massive fight between Iron Man and Zeke Stane. After a few issues of built-up, both armor-men go at it in one of Stark's facilities. Zeke planned to blow up four at once with his terrorist network and succeeds in one overseas, killing dozens of people.

After some quirky potential, and including THE ORDER, some 15 issues of built-up, Zeke is coming off as a little bit generic. But at the very least, he is a legacy villain with a tried and true motive, the "you killed my father!" motive. It's cliche but repeated for a reason. I can understand some annoyance that after all the talk of being an "Iron Man 2.0" that he is basically a guy with cyber-blood in a bulky suit of armor like Stark is, but I don't mind it a whole lot. I mean, did it make a lot of sense for, say, Lex Luthor or Obediah Stane to wear ridiculous suits of armor to kill their enemies? No, but it was quite dramatic. These are comic books, remember. Wanting to avenge a father is older than time in fiction, and it is another example of Stark having to fight his own legacy as well as the legacy of the technology he has brought onto the world.

Iron Man is no match for Iron Monger 2.0, and in the end is seemingly decapitated. How many people want to bet it was a drone?

I thought the battle was a bit one sided, but well paced by Fraction and Larroca. There are a few quirky lines between Hill and Potts, but after last issue's set up, this one is all action. I finished it in barely 7 minutes.

For those disappointed at Zeke's armor, all I can ask is: what did you want? A typical bombing crusade? Iron Man fighting suicide bombers is one sided and not very action oriented. People want superhero action fron IRON MAN, not THE UNIT in a red and gold suit. I suppose Zeke could have been a non-armored technology-man, but those have been done nearly as often as bulky armored people. Fraction tries to mix in both, but he's more about armor now anyway. Considering new villains are hard to make, Zeke comes off better than a slew of other rogues from the past 1-3 years I could list. I wonder if he will survive the arc, though.

While I like this more than some people, there's no denying that it could be handled a little better, and that Fraction has written better. Still, it's good popcorn entertainment for me. There is no question that THE ORDER was twice as entertaining as this, though, and it is a kind of shame that Fraction, if you believe his story, lost interest in that to tell an action packed but somewhat typical Iron Man series. At least Iron Man isn't an unrootable jerk here.

IRON MAN: GOLDEN AVENGER #1: I have to admit, I grabbed this on a whim wondering what the heck it was. It has the most lazy and generic cover in a while; a stock IRON MAN movie picture with a title anyone with Photoshop could have cobbled together in 15 minutes. It has nothing to do with the movie, or even current Marvel continuity. It is written by Fred Van Lente, who did the MODOK'S 11 a while back, with art by Juan Santacruz; neither of whom are credited on the cover. Is this a Marvel Adventures book? A random one-shot or one of those random "old school" mini's that get pushed out for Iron Man every year now?

It stars Iron Man and Pepper Potts and really could take place during any period after Happy's death (or maybe Happy is on vacation). Iron Man feels the "employee of the month" program is needless because Pepper is always that employee. But she has a rival, Candee, who wants to take her place on the wall of fame. So she kidnaps Pepper and manipulates Plant Man, Spymaster, Jolt (who is villain here for some reason), and Blacklash (the old school version) into robbing Stark Enterprises, hoping to save Stark and win a promotion. Things don't work out that way, Iron Man saves the day (thanks to, of all things, a cell phone) and the villains are carted away.

The art is nice but this is pretty typical stuff. Some research shows that this is connected to the MARVEL ADVENTURES verion of Iron Man after all, where Jolt from THUNDERBOLTS is a villain. Hmm. So is this another "universe" that Joe Q will pretend doesn't exist for Handbook fans? But I guess suckers like me are why the cover was so misleading. I've got to pay more attention. I'd rather see Van Lante get a crack at higher profile work; MARVEL ADVENTURES is like a back office. I suppose for kids this was fun, but for me, it was kind of mundane. X-MEN: FIRST CLASS has a lot more pep to it.

PUNISHER WAR JOURNAL #23: An otherwise acceptable, if not stellar, ending to this JIGSAW arc that is marred by what has to be the biggest power level ****-up since NEW AVENGERS #2. I like Fraction overall, but I have to call a spade a spade, and had Bendis or Millar made a gaffe like this, I'd be throwing a fit. The issue has Frank Castle use Wrecker's crowbar with all it's power, despite it not supposed to work for anyone who is not the Wrecking Crew or otherwise Norse enchanted. Just because Frank is a "bad ass" doesn't mean he should be able to summon Loki's magic that empowers it. It made no bloody sense and just seemed like an idea that wasn't planned out well. It's pure No-Prize level bungling.

After finally getting some rep back in OMEGA FLIGHT, the Wrecking Crew come in and are basically fairies again. A speeding truck drops half of them. Rhino, of all people, practically TKO's the Wrecker with one sucker-lunge. Are you kidding me?

In a way, I am willing to let the last one slide because, frankly, the Rhino was the best part of the issue. Stuart Clarke apparently called HIM as back up two issues ago. Because Frank Castle saved Rhino from Kraven a few issues ago (and a better arc ago), Rhino decides to save the vigilante to make things "even". Want to know the twisted thing? Some readers, including TheCorpulent1 have bemoaned how many characters these days are either wantonly killing "goons" when they never did before (and often took pains to avoid them before), or have become more accepting of heroes who do. Things like Iron Fist and Luke Cage slaughtering ninja or Spider-Man not even batting an eye as Wolverine splatters Skrulls. But Rhino? He isn't into killing. He killed a bank guard by accident and actually FELT BAD (even sending an apology letter and money to the man's family). He chews the Wrecking Crew out for becoming "common" hitmen for hire instead of, I don't know, more dignified bank-robbers like him. He even calls them for setting up Jarvis to get pummeled during UNDER SIEGE, which seemed low (which it was). In-between issues of PWJ, Fraction may be trying to write the most entertaining Rhino since TANGLED WEB's "Flowers for Rhino" story. **** the Punisher, get Fraction on a Rhino mini-series. Make it a caper book like MODOK'S 11 was, and I bet it'd be great.

Chaykin continues on art and his style is blocky and not to everyone's tastes. He often comes off like a Frank Miller light and it isn't usually my cup of tea. Deciding that Bridge was right, in that Castle has been killing criminals because of routine and not due to any passion, he decides to stay in jail to re-evaluate his mission. The "enemy/ally" dynamic between Bridge and Castle is interesting at some points but also a bit contrived. Naturally Punisher will escape, and things will assume a status quo.

PWJ is an odd book; when Fraction is writing a storyline that focuses on dark humor, he usually succeeds. When he tries to do something straight, like with Castle-as-Cap or this one, which explores Jigsaw's obsession with Castle (and ends with Jig moaning about how much he loves Frank, which seems quite pathetic), it is a lot more awkward with hit-or-miss chapters. I like Stuart Clarke as a replacement for Microchip, but this is a series that doesn't do well when it gets serious. Aside for moments of genius, this arc has resulted in me losing most of my interest in this series and I will have to decide whether to continue buying it. But at least Rhino finally got some due, even if it had to be at the expense of similarly overused rogues.

THE TWELVE #1/2: No, not a WIZARD promo! Taking place after, uh, THE TWELVE #0, it offered colored reprints of more Golden Age comics starring Rockman, Fiery Mask, and Mister E. It turns out JMS got Mask's origin right in THE TWELVE, which only shows a good level of research. The stories are typical 40's era superhero cheese and in a way they show that JMS has breathed far more life into these characters than ever existed before.

Still, paying $4 for some crusty old stories and some preview art seems a bit much. Marvel should have viewed this as an advertisement for THE TWELVE, and lowered the price to, say, 50 cents, get it into as many hands at once (or even free, like their MARVEL SAGA). It is what it is.

 

[CaptainCanada]

I'm in Canada, so my comics actually were at the shop on Wednesday.

Regarding Stane, my issue isn't that he confronts Stark physically (this is a superhero comic, after all), it's that, after introducing the idea of his body basically being a bio-machine, they stick him in a suit anyway. It would have been better to leave him dressed like a civilian, showcasing that he's not dependent on armour.

 

[fifthfiend]

I actually don't dig the physical confrontation angle here too hard. Honestly I think the arc went a bit awry as of the bombing. Fraction had made it pretty explicity that Zeke's tech wasn't up to the level of Tony's, but it was more mass-producible. Being in that kind of situation walking into his building and blowing him the **** up just isn't really the inspired move. I'd have liked to see Ezekiel fight Tony the way a little guy fights a big guy, by making unexpected or unexpectedly damaging moves that goad Tony into making the really big ****ups, with a longer burn into the final conclusion where Tony finally breaks down Zeke's game and pulls out a couple moves ahead of him, and then you get to the big final-confrontation ****.

It's not that this arc was really bad so much as like... we ended up getting standard villainy when the beginning of the arc had me getting my heart set on honest-to-gosh archvillainy.

 

[Bubonic]

Marvel Apes really isn't as bad as you might expect it to be. It also seems to be steering in a darker direction then you'd imagine.

Basically the story centers around The Gibbon, volunteers himself for a study of super powered individuals, the scientist lady taking care of the experiment gets into a lab and dabbles where she shouldn't and they get zapped to some monkeyverse.

All a sudden the Gibbon isn't out of place anymore and he ends up helping the ape-vengers and achieving all he'd only dreamed of doing in the 616.
He is being considered as a member by their Captain America, but things get shady when he sees how they handle justice...

My suggestion is that this is the kind of thing you might want to borrow from a friend first, or download before committing yourself to it... Because I know a lot of you have no interest at all, but you might find yourself enjoying it if you give it a chance.

Sub-Mariner: The Depths The art in this is amazing and it keeps to the creepy atmospheric tone of the story.

This is set sometime during the cold war and involves a man who makes it his duty to debunk urban legends and myths. When he's asked to lead a scientific expedition to get to the bottom of the Atlantis myth he goes for it.

Even though Namor should be known about since he was one of the Invaders, in this reality he isn't and its creepy to see how much the crewmen fear him and how doomed they feel when they run into some deep sea trouble.

You don't see him at all in this issue, but the build-up is great and I can't want for the follow up.

This is my pick of the week.

Dead of Night featuring Devil Slayer This was decent. I know nothing of Devil-Slayer, and although it ends with the definite lead up to some devil slaying I can see this won't be a typical hero type thing.

Story touches on the issue of readjusting to civilian life, he basically got dropped by his gf, can't get jobs or counselling... So instead of contemplating suicide he goes on a third tour to Iraq.

There some weirdness involving the Bloodstone, which I think are contractors, and they get sent to some area to check stuff out, things go real bad real fast, and then you get some devils setting us up for some devil slaying next issue.

What I didn't like is the Dead of Night namesake being used for this series... We don't get the crypt keeper guy and it just doesn't have that feel.

I also read Iron Man : The Golden Avenger which was an alright generic type of story and The Invincible Iron Man which I thought was pretty good, action packed but these have been addressed in a fashion superior to what I care to offer.

I gave my 2 cents about the other titles because no one mentioned them yet.

 

[Hush]

SO yeah my store didnt get its books yesterday! Now i have to wait til next week because im going out of town today! Good thing is I got the deluxe edition of Grant Morrissons JLA Volume 1 and it was only 25 bucks due to the 20% discount the store was giving due to the delay on new books.

 

[Hans]

END LEAGUE #4: I've been getting this grim, somewhat bi-monthly post-apocalyptic series sporadically. I was actually amazed that my LCS had a copy; usually I need to nab it in Manhattan. Not unlike WANTED, Remender has created a world where the villains, led by the mega-villain Dead Lexington, have taken over the world and only a single team, the "End League", exists. The war is already lost and all the few heroes left can do is survive and maybe help out some people as they travel. In prior issues, a brainwashed-Thor managed to cripple their speedster heroine Blur Girl and kill their Superman cypher, Astonishman (who accidentally caused the world to collapse by overreacting to some aliens). The goddess Divinity goes back home to her pantheon while Soldier American and Prairie Ghost try to save Blur Girl's life.

One annoying hassle with this series is that while it drops a bucketload of exposition in every page because of the "original" characters it stars, but usually neglects to state their FULL codenames. Half the time when I finally learn a character's full name, it is from a recap or the letters page, which after 4 issues is kind of grating. The other major hassle is this story seems more like a string of interesting concepts thrown together to try to make a story out of it, but feels hollow in the middle. There are so many characters and few of them are reaching to the fore. The one with the most focus was Astonishman, and he's dead. Prairie Ghost gets some focus here, but he is more of a cool concept and schtick rather than a character. He manages to waltz into a villain-run town, drag a "healer" out of a bar and escape back to his comrades. It turns out that he's literally a ghost who can't become solid (at least not easily), and he always feels the pain of hunger because he can't eat. This is interesting, but the series jumps around a bit that few moments have time to breathe. Packed to the gills is usually better than slow and plodding, but the middle-ground is best.

Right by the end, Broome apparently ran out of time, and Canete does the art. The styles clash a bit and even the colors are different as Soldier American is randomly faced with a body-snatching villain who takes hold of Blur Girl's form, and then the Ghost's at the end. The dilemma with a series that stars "cyphers" of established characters is that you have to try to make them unique unto themselves without bombarding the reader, and this series fails at it. It also has a bleak tone which is fine for some, but actually feels a bit hollow. Like someone doing a Mark Millar Lite. Remender's creating something new here, or trying, but is showing some inexperience here. He seems to be biting off more than he can handle in 22 pages a month. 4 issues in and I barely know any of the characters, and that isn't good. There's some stuff about Divinity and the gods, but frankly I didn't care a whole lot.

I gave this the ol' college try but my talent for finding 3rd party duds while missing the boat on the good stuff seems to continue. The 3rd party books I decide to hop on at #1 are never EX MACHINA or WALKING DEAD or Y THE LAST MAN. They're stuff like this, which is usually forgettable. Not the worst thing ever, and it has some good moments (Broome's art is pretty good, too), and I have to admit Prairie Ghost is kind of cool. But everything just isn't clicking here. Whether I give it until issue #6, the obligatory trade cut off, depends on a whim on whatever week the next issue ships. If Remender scaled things back a tad, took more time to develop some characters, and made less of them, it would have worked better. In the Silver Age, few teams started with more then 4-5 members for a reason. Jamming in 7+ in 22 pages just short changes all of them.

I agree with you that the characters are really confusing. There's a lot of them, and the book wasn't coming out monthly and I found that I was having a hard time keeping track of who was who. Ultimately, I decided to give Remender the benefit of the doubt, and I've been buying the series, but haven't read the last two issues. I'm waiting until the first arc is complete before diving in again.

But I disagree about Broome's art. It sucks. I'm glad he's gone and I can't wait for Canete.

 

[Dread]

I'm in Canada, so my comics actually were at the shop on Wednesday.

Regarding Stane, my issue isn't that he confronts Stark physically (this is a superhero comic, after all), it's that, after introducing the idea of his body basically being a bio-machine, they stick him in a suit anyway. It would have been better to leave him dressed like a civilian, showcasing that he's not dependent on armour.

Lucky Canuck. You guys also have been getting better comic cartoon debuts on YTV than we can expect from cable.

Zeke Stane WAS a bio-machine, but he needed the armor to stabilize his form. Besides, a spooky suit of armor is a bit more dramatic than a guy in a business suit being smug. I've seen too much of that the last few years. But, to each their own.

I actually don't dig the physical confrontation angle here too hard. Honestly I think the arc went a bit awry as of the bombing. Fraction had made it pretty explicity that Zeke's tech wasn't up to the level of Tony's, but it was more mass-producible. Being in that kind of situation walking into his building and blowing him the **** up just isn't really the inspired move. I'd have liked to see Ezekiel fight Tony the way a little guy fights a big guy, by making unexpected or unexpectedly damaging moves that goad Tony into making the really big ****ups, with a longer burn into the final conclusion where Tony finally breaks down Zeke's game and pulls out a couple moves ahead of him, and then you get to the big final-confrontation ****.

It's not that this arc was really bad so much as like... we ended up getting standard villainy when the beginning of the arc had me getting my heart set on honest-to-gosh archvillainy.

You expected an espionage thriller from a book that promised bombastic action in the wake of the film?

You also have to understand that a scenerio that you described is every bit as typical and predictable as two guys in armor slugging it out, right? I mean, you've laid it all out right there.

Different strokes. I will admit that Zeke's build-up has been better than his delivery, though. And I easily would have traded this for another arc of THE ORDER.

I agree with you that the characters are really confusing. There's a lot of them, and the book wasn't coming out monthly and I found that I was having a hard time keeping track of who was who. Ultimately, I decided to give Remender the benefit of the doubt, and I've been buying the series, but haven't read the last two issues. I'm waiting until the first arc is complete before diving in again.

But I disagree about Broome's art. It sucks. I'm glad he's gone and I can't wait for Canete.

I prefer Broome, but we'll have to agree to disagree.

Early buzz on END LEAGUE was good, but it hasn't delivered.

 

[CaptainCanada]

Part II

Manhunter #34

Kate Spencer's status quo has changed considerably since she first debuted; in her first arc she literally hid in the bushes when the JLA arrived; now she's on the Birds of Prey, who show up to help Kate in this issue as she faces down the Suicide Squad (actually, it's more complicated then that). Kate's integration into the DCU has kind of overlooked her tendency to kill villains (although Helena also does that on occasion, and it isn't an issue with Oracle anymore). The story is not especially interesting (evil US corporation experimenting on illegal immigrants; Andreyko also gives us the standard "there's nothing wrong with illegal immigration and anyone who has a problem with it is a racist hick"), but there are also two b-plots running: the first involves Ramsey staying with his great-grandparents, two Golden Age superheroes, and he demonstrates superpowers, to the chagrin of both; the other involves Kate's tech support, Dylan, who finds himself in the Joker's sights once Mr. J finds out that he's alive (his wife and kid are already dead, although they hadn't been see in like 30 issues). Andreyko's writing is customarily good (Kate always has one of the best internal voices in comics). Gaydos' art has never been a favourite of mine; it's okay here, but a definite step down from the previous guys on this title.

Secret Six #1

Gail Simone used the Villains United miniseries that lead into Infinite Crisis to introduce a collection of Z-list villains, who later got their own miniseries and guested in Simone's final arc on Birds of Prey, and now an ongoing title, for as long as sales will support them (which I cynically doubt will be long, though DC can't have huge sales expectations for this title to begin with). Events since their last appearance have disrupted their lineup a bit, since Death of the New Gods necessitated the killing of Knockout. The issue opens with her lover Scandal rather despondent at this development (obviously), cured by the rest of the team hiring a stripper who dresses up like Knockout (which only helps insofar as it triggers a hallucination/vision/whatever of Knockout that gets Scandal back on her feet). Bane is now on the team, but this isn't really called attention to; a sixth member is promised in the near future. Bane so far doesn't do much of anything. Catman, meanwhile, building off his flirtation with Huntress, is semi-tempted to go straight, but Deadshot points out that he still feels no compulsion to help innocent people. This is a fun/realistic twist on the whole "redemptive power of a good woman" thing, since, really, all Blake wants is to date Helena, he's still not that moral. The McGuffin du jour is a data card in the possession of Tarantula, everyone's favourite rapist, the villain a guy who hides in a box and eats people (and has absolutely everyone talking about how dangerous he is, which oversells him a bit, I have to say). Simone's writing is what you'd expect, and it's fun to read. Nicola Scott, poached off Birds of Prey, provides quality art.

 

[Dark Victory]

Punisher War Journal # 23

Was there ever a good moment in Rick Remender, Matt Fraction, and Howard Chaykin’s run with the Punisher: War Journal series? One would think not and it looks like their Jigsaw story arc is coming to an end. Can Remender and Fraction write a good ending to this stale story?

Frank Castle is a prisoner, but that doesn’t mean he won’t stop fighting. The final confrontation is taking place on the Brooklyn Bridge and Jigsaw is nothing going to let Castle leave in one piece. Will Bridge and S.H.I.E.L.D. be able to help out Frank Castle or do they have to look else where for some help?

No matter what Remender and Fraction throw at us this storyline is about as fun as a stiff cardboard cutout. I found the conclusion to be one of the worst parts of the entire story. These two writers manage to add more crap to this already horrible story. Oh I don’t want to ruin the huge surprise in this story. Both Remender and Fraction are bringing in a new character and he means nothing to the story. That right there makes the sixth part in the story the worst part in the entire issue.

When the main story comes to an end we are treated to some prologue stories that make no sense. The outcome for starters just annoys me, but these prologues? Are you kidding me? Enough is enough and I for one can not stand for this so called writing from these two Marvel writers. This is the kind of story telling you would expect from somebody that thinks they can writer a comic book.

There is still no hope for the art direction in this series. Howard Chaykin seems to have gotten worse in this issue, believe it or not. He draws some of the worst character animations, everyone feels so lifeless. When Bridge gets attacked it seriously looks like he is just standing there while a villain is giving him a love tap. Chaykin should not be able to draw anything in the Marvel Universe.

Final Verdict
As long as these three have anything to do with the Punisher: War Journal series I will not buy another issue. I feel ripped off and I some how managed to read the entire story. Do not buy this issue and whatever you do please do not support this team if they continue with the War Journal series.

Rating
0 out of 10

 

[Mr. Green]

Damn, DV. Punisher: War Journal must really suck...

 

[Dark Victory]

Damn, DV. Punisher: War Journal must really suck...

You have no idea. If you want to waste $20, go out and get the last 6 Punisher issues(Jigsaw arc) and try to read it. Seriously, it took me 2 days to finish #23 by how bad it was. The Punisher MAX line stuff is great though. Even if Garth Ennis left, the new arc looks pretty good.

 

[Dread]

Damn, DV. Punisher: War Journal must really suck...

The JIGSAW arc hasn't been that great. Frankly, the best issues of the series were either one-shot stories or stories where there was a focus on humor, such as the WWH tie-in or the Kraven arc.

And Chaykin's art does suck. I'm amazed he continues to get mainstream superhero work. Then again, so does Scottie Young or Humberto Ramos, so...

DV didn't even mentioned the power-level gaffe that sucked me out of the issue immediately; there is no way Punisher should have been able to harness Wrecker's magic crowbar. It can only work for one of the crew, their kin (presumably), or someone with Norse magic. Castle has none of that. It was just lazy.

Rhino was the highlight of the issue for me.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Angel: After the Fall #13 wins because it wasn't a god-awful pile of s*** like the last few issues of the series. In fact, it was actually kind of cool. In another fact, I kind of actually enjoyed it, including the art, which ranged from competent to downright decent. If you've read any of the last 3 issues or so, you know what a vast improvement "competent to decent" is over the drek they were slopping on the pages before.

 

[Dark Victory]

The JIGSAW arc hasn't been that great. Frankly, the best issues of the series were either one-shot stories or stories where there was a focus on humor, such as the WWH tie-in or the Kraven arc.

And Chaykin's art does suck. I'm amazed he continues to get mainstream superhero work. Then again, so does Scottie Young or Humberto Ramos, so...

DV didn't even mentioned the power-level gaffe that sucked me out of the issue immediately; there is no way Punisher should have been able to harness Wrecker's magic crowbar. It can only work for one of the crew, their kin (presumably), or someone with Norse magic. Castle has none of that. It was just lazy.

Rhino was the highlight of the issue for me.

My main problem with the issue was

Spoiler

Jigsaw getting shot in the head by the kid he brainwashed. What a complete anti-climatic death. You would think that Punisher would cut him in half Wreckers Crowbar(even if it made no sense) Frank is convinced not to kill him. WHAT!?!?! But anyway with the brainwashed cop killing Jigsaw,Fraction tried to write something new but failed...as always. Fraction is leaving so hopefully when he's gone it will be as good as the MAX line but I'm not going to hold my breath.

 

[BrianWilly]

Trinity #14
While it doesn't quite get better and better, it definitely does keep up the "better" that it's accumulated over the past month, and that's great. Highlight of the issue was actually the Niceaza backup for me, with everyone against the Dreambound and even a bunch of heroes being competent and stuff...this feels like the DCU that a weekly series deserves, and this feels like the weekly series that the DCU deserves.

More of this, thanks.

(8.6 out of 10)


Nightwing #148
This is great. Not a lot happens and yet Tomasi makes "not a lot" feel like everything in the world. You'll know it when you see it. Awww, Alfwed.

So who else is thinking that Harvey...or, rather, Two-Face is going to be the main villain here? It's kind of passe by now, but it's so very definitely the exact sort of thing that he would do. And what'd be great if it was supposed to come as this great big reveal, and actually goes off with Nightwing saying, "Well, duh, of course, I figured it out way back when you hired me."

(8 out of 10)


Titans #4
I think Judd finds excuses to insert the deadly sins into a lot of his stories just so he can have a bunch of people be controlled by lust and do gayish things.

What else to say? It's sad...with a different (much different) artist and slightly better dialoguing, this wouldn't horrible, not nearly so. There's a lot of things here you think you might like, and a lot of ideas that feel like it could work if it weren't in the place that it is. It's confusing, I know, I'm confused too. But what we basically end up with is yet more dead weight on the Judd-Winick-Can't-Write-Anymore-To-Save-His-Own-Life wagon.

(4.5 out of 10)


Supergirl #33
Where did Puckett go????? Grrr SO ANGRY

So Empress is here. But I gotta say, if you're looking for a heroic and fitting reintroduction of that beloved feisty Fite which graced the pages of YJ, you should probably skip this issue. Empress has a strong presence here but she's...well, she's...different. It's...um...

Oh, ****ett. I'll just say it. She betrays Supergirl here to the villains in order to save her baby parents, whom she was incompetent at saving in the first place, and then she's incompetent even at betraying Supergirl. So, basically, she's an incompetent traitor here. Well, Supergirl forgives her at the end, 'cause apparently she's learned an important lesson from promising to cure a little boy's cancer and then not delivering. I suppose.

Even disregarding Empress catching that OYL out-of-character bug that's spread throughout the DCU, there's really nothing remarkable about the issue and feels utterly fill-in. I suppose it has to be, since it is a fill-in writer. Is Puckett not coming back, ever? What a disappointing end to an otherwise great run.

(4.9 out of 10)


Blue Beetle #30
Now this? This is not disappointing. This is the opposite of disappointing. This is appointing. This is wonderful. It's wonderful because it's done the impossible at DC, which is to replace a great series' writer with someone who can be equally great, or at least fool me into thinking so.

Paco's family? So much love. Jaime-Scarab banter? So much love. I imagine that the phrase "It's like Rogers never left" is going to fill up a lot of my Blue Beetle reviews for the future, probably irritatingly so, but you have to understand, that's like the highest sort of compliment for this or any other book.

It's like Rogers never left.

(9.6 out of 10)

 

[Tron Bonne]

Dark Victory, sounds like a lot of your problem with War Journal, is that it's not, or not like, the MAX comic

 

[Dread]

My main problem with the issue was

Spoiler

Jigsaw getting shot in the head by the kid he brainwashed. What a complete anti-climatic death. You would think that Punisher would cut him in half Wreckers Crowbar(even if it made no sense) Frank is convinced not to kill him. WHAT!?!?! But anyway with the brainwashed cop killing Jigsaw,Fraction tried to write something new but failed...as always. Fraction is leaving so hopefully when he's gone it will be as good as the MAX line but I'm not going to hold my breath.

Yeah, I agree the ending was a bit weak. I didn't buy that Castle was suddenly having a change of heart after one speech from Bridge. I understood the point, but it did seem kind of contrived.

It was kind of an anti-climatic death for Jigsaw, but at least he can't magically break Spider-Man's arm anymore. Besides, a bullet to the head doesn't always equal death. Just ask Hammerhead.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Blue Beetle #30

It's like Rogers never left.

(9.6 out of 10)

That about sums it up. Sturges has laid all my fears to rest by giving Paco the most heartwarmingly hilarious family this side of the (well-written) Wests. I'm really looking forward to seeing how he handles Traci Thirteen now. That's my second litmus test for Blue Beetle writers, since I like Traci so much.

 

[Dark Victory]

Dark Victory, sounds like a lot of your problem with War Journal, is that it's not, or not like, the MAX comic

Well MAX is written for Mature readers where the new Punisher: War Journal could be found in the kids section at Borders.

 

[Dread]

That about sums it up. Sturges has laid all my fears to rest by giving Paco the most heartwarmingly hilarious family this side of the (well-written) Wests. I'm really looking forward to seeing how he handles Traci Thirteen now. That's my second litmus test for Blue Beetle writers, since I like Traci so much.

As I commented a week or two ago, BLUE BEETLE is one of those rare books where subsequent writers have actually cared to stay faithful to the character and the stories presented by the prior team, rather than "stake their own legacy". If more writers did that on more books, we wouldn't have so many continuity nightmares.

I'd like to see more Traci 13 too.

And nothing's getting me to read Teen Titans, not even Jamie. How long has Kid Devil started being drawn like red Nightcrawler with horns, BTW?

 

[Tron Bonne]

Well MAX is written for Mature readers where the new Punisher: War Journal could be found in the kids section at Borders.

In the Kids sections? I doubt you'll be finding any comics there nowadays