Didn't seem to have All Star Superman in my shop, which angers
. Maybe they just forgot that it was coming this week, like I did
.
World War Hulk #5
Well it's
pretty.
And to be fair the story is okay-ish as well. Still, why does Bruce here forgive the Illuminati when he didn't before? When Strange was in his mind, he certainly wasn't interested in parleying.
And I'm not sure how I feel about Miek being The Mastermind behind all of this. It was
written spectacularly, and it fit the theme and overall messages of this whole shebang. But it's kinda lame, isn't it? It's what people have been predicting from the start, almost as a joke, like "Heh I bet that's what happens!...lol nah they wouldn't ever go for that." It practically borders on Yellow Space Bug shenanigans in that it
immediately absolves the Illuminati of
any wrongdoing. Now, not only were they not responsible for the warp core going bonkers, they didn't even
build a dang warp core that might explode like that in the first place.
Doesn't that just completely negate the first four issues of this? Doesn't that just completely invalidate four issues of the Hulk calling them monsters and calling them out for their crimes and them unable to deny it because in a way they agreed that they
were monsters if their acts led to this horrible thing? Even before this issue, the Hulk was never right in this war in the first place; he was
always in the wrong, he was
always the villain of this piece for blaming this tragedy on people who weren't directly responsible. And now, with the revelation that he
didn't even blame the right people, he's not only comes off as
wrong, he comes across like a gullible dumbass as well.
Which, granted, is not
completely out of the realm of the Hulk's character.
To Pak's credit, he doesn't deny this. He doesn't absolve the Hulk for what he has done. He fully illustrates this week that the Hulk's behavior has been bestial, and crude, and
inexcusable. Which is...really, it's what the Hulk should be, on all levels. "I'll always hate you...almost as much as I hate myself"[/paraphrase] was the best and most meaningful line uttered on this series.
Not a whole lot else to say, really...Hulk giving man-birth to a kid is just MPREG fanfic on various levels. This event has been undeniably the most enjoyable out of all Marvel's big events of late -- which may not be saying
too much -- if only on a visceral level. That has no stopped it, however, from making numerous annoying missteps throughout. It may have been your cup of tea, and rightfully so. I say that it was, ultimately, a good effort at the least.
(7.5 out of 10)
(6.7 out of 10 for the whole series)
Booster Gold #4
As brilliant as it ever was. Not quite as much with the lulzes this time around, instead dealing out some genuine plot progression and dramallama. Of course it still manages to be infinitely charming and fun, like a good comic book should, with some of the best one-liners ever. And Maximillion. And it's all wrapped around classic (but uncomplicated) DC continuity like a gentle lover.
I'm not quite as on board with "Rose" as I think I'm supposed to be. First of all she's yet
another hot female investigative reporter in the churning fiery chaos of hot female investigative reporters that already encompass the DCU, second of all she's a blogger, and we all know what horrors lie down that road.
(9 out of 10)
Nova #8
An
awesome issue. Far better than even I thought it would be, and I thought it was going to be great. Russian space dogs. It's got
Russian space dogs that talk. And Worldmind getting *********, which was funnier than it had any right to be.
The dialogue and general writing on this series is incredibly strong. Everyone's got their own space and their own voices and it's all vividly likeable without having to resort to grammar dickery (coughcoughBendis). Cosmo's exposition, which could have sounded unforgivably like the Exposition Hell that so many comics fall prey to, is instead unbearably cute and readable. First of all because it's coming from a dog, secondly because it's a Russian dog.
Up next: Marvel Zombies...in space? Hell, weirder (and worse) things have happened.
(9.2 out of 10)
Wonder Woman #14
And then we have Nazis. Hey, if Captain Marvel's not going to be using any of his old rogues anymore, no reason why WW can't borrow some.
So as we all expected, this was pretty much miles upon legions upon fcktons better than the Blunder Woman (
) we've been getting from Pfeifer and Picoult. But is it
great? Is it all that we have been dreaming for? Is it the stuff of Rucka, or is it only passably Byrne? Magic eight ball says...
...Wait and see.
There is greatness here. Fighting with gorillas and how said fighting is concluded? Great. Said gorillas living at her apartment? Great. Diana's internal monologue being meaningful and coherent instead of "HOW DOES I USES SUBWAYZ
??"? Great. Nazi invasion? Great, but you didn't hear it from me.
Etta Candy, who is the closest thing that WW's probably ever going to get to an iconic supporting cast member? Really great.
But all the great is sorta held back by a thin venear of trepidation. Simone inherits a lot of baggage with this run, and to be frank it may be beyond her or
anyone's skills to make it really, really work. When Heinberg first started the secret agent route, I thought that it was actually sort of interesting and could be worked with. I'm willing to concede that I may have been horribly wrong on that count. Every moment that Nemesis appears, I cringe in fear. Every time "Diana Prince" opens her mouth, I duck for cover. It may be my own fault for preconceived notions. It may be because of lingering trauma from the Shamazons Attack horribleness. Whatever it is, it's stopping this arc from totally being what it could be.
Or maybe it's not. Hence "wait and see."
For all of Heinberg's unprofessionalism, he was right about one thing: every single WW writer has tried to make a different character with a different tone, and as a result WW has never had any single defining tone. There's been writers whose tones and continuity have been more similar than others, but at the end of the day you've got a bunch of different Dianas doing different things for different reasons. Fans may have a run -- a Diana, so to speak -- that they
prefer more than another, but no one can really say this is "the" Diana simply because it wouldn't be true.
And Simone is trying to work with it, to varying results. Her issue literally feels like two different versions of Diana from the past, two different runs at different times; it felt a bit like Rucka's Wonder Woman run during the gorilla fight, and then it felt like Heinberg's when she's doing her Diana Prince business. And the divide -- the
distinction -- is harsher and more pronounced than I would have liked or thought it would be. Only time will tell if we can fully reconcile the two practically pre-Crisis and post-Crisis tones for the character. Hence, you guessed it, "wait and see."
That, and I'm still iffy at the fact that Hippolyta is alive again.
(8.3 out of 10)
Avengers: The Initiative #7
Just chiming in to say how I
totally called the Scarlet Spiders being clones. Boo yah!
Slott more or less unmasking Spider-Man here is noteworthy. It's also, unfortunately, about as contrived as Matt Murdock not "officially" being Daredevil and the idiot masses of the Marvel universe buying into it, and it is also complete bullsht at least on the part of JJ Jameson because of
Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #23. Of course Spidey's continuity is barely coherent on its own, much less
Jameson's schizophrenic characterization, so it's not as much Slott's fault as it is just more par for our course.
(7.1 out of 10)
Wonder Girl #3
Okay, when stylized art begins to bother
me of all people, you know we've got a problem.
So, as per usual, good things along with the bad. Good thing? Star-earrings used like shurikens! Someone
needs to remember this as one of Cassie's ↓↘→ techniques, 'cause it's all kinds of awesome.
Bad thing? Cassie acting like a moron again, falling for Herc's "lulzimConner!" trick, which she
just fell for back in Teen Titans, and which she
also just fell for back in Heinberg's WW run. And even if that run was a really, really, really...
really long time ago, I don't think for a single moment that Torres isn't aware of it considering how very very aware he is of every single
other facet of Cassie's continuity.
Good thing? Cissie and Anita again.
Bad thing? Everyone
else acting like a moron. Heracles somehow thinking that Cassie would be glad to become his queen along with teaming up with the
Female freaking Furies. Moron. Said Female Furies just...well, being themselves, which is moronic enough.
Good thing? The story itself is still acceptable. Countdown-related, but don't hold that against it, because it does make a certain amount of sense in Cassie's current status quo. And the cliffhanger is pretty good as well.
(6.6 out of 10)
Titans East Special
Yeah, no.
(3.2 out of 10)
Green Arrow and Black Canary #2
Mia said:
"Everyone has AIDS!
My grandma and my dog ol' blue AIDS AIDS AIDS
The pope has got it and so do you AIDS AIDS AIDS AIDS AIDS
C'mon everybody we got quilting to do AIDS AIDS AIDS AIDS AIDS
We gotta break down these baricades, everyone has
AIDS AIDS AIDS AIDS AIDS
AIDS AIDS AIDS AIDS AIDS AIDS AIDS!"
On that note...this wasn't too bad. Dinah comes across quite well. And the premise is fun so far.
So far.
Oh, and Connor wears
white briefs, okay? Not green boxer-briefs. Don't ask me how I know that, but he does.
(7.4 out of 10)
More reviews, including New Avengers, Salvation Run, Thor, X-Factor and Black Adam, after I watch Beowulf.
