Bought/Thought Thread: September 9th
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Darthphere
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You haven't heard the Cloud Sniper theme song?
Darthphere
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You're missing out.
Darthphere
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Considering I made up the Cloud Sniper theme and only posted it here, then yeah.
Darthphere
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Only a select few have heard it.
Either way, it's just the Queen Flash Gordon theme with the words Cloud SNiper in it.
Either way, it's just the Queen Flash Gordon theme with the words Cloud SNiper in it.
Tron Bonne
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Did anyone else read Young Liars #7? Does anyone read Young Liars at all? I've been really, really enjoying this book so far, but I think my enjoyment just tripled with the arrival of #7. Holy crap. I knew there was going to be a weird backstory for Sadie, but I had no idea it would this kind of weird.
I actually read Young Liars, I thought I was the only one. I haven't got a chance to pick up my comics this week, so I haven't got the chance to read issue 7. I figured that we were in for a bizarre twist whenever Sadie started talking about the Spider From Mars and all that.
It's one of those books that I really look forward to reading each month.
Blader5489
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Awesome.
JewishHobbit
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Secret Invasion week at marvel! Spoilers follow.
Secret Invasion 6 of 8 - Not a bad issue, but I think I'm ready for all this Skrull stuff to wrap up. Fortunately we only have 2 more issue to go, and I think most of the tie-ins are wrapping up as well. Good stuff.
As for the actual story, it's not bad. I was surprised by the opener and the death of Captain Marvel. The scene between him and Marvel Boy was good, but Captain Marvel had such good build up in Reed's mini series that I was hoping more would come of him here. I knew he was going to die due to the Hulkling issue of YA Presents saying that Hulkling never saw him again, but to just kinda die quickly in a page without any sort of build up or anything just felt kinda hollow.
The story then goes to some skrull conversation while showing some stuff going on in other various tie-ins (X-Men, Black Panther, Inhumans, etc.). It's nice to see other titles acknowledged, but I"d rather it be seen in story than just quick panels adding nothing to the story.
The next scene has me curious, I'd admit. When Pym and Spider-Woman are discussing the invasion, Pym asks her if Janet Van Dyne is with the Avengers. And since she is, he says that they'll win. This makes me wonder if Wasp is also a Skrull, but I guess we'll see.
I have to say that I enjoyed the gathering of heroes (and villains). It felt a bit rushed, but it still felt good. It starts with Fury coming back out with his Seret Warriors, the Young Avengers, and the Initiative. It notes "what's left of the Initiative" but the only one who died was that Geldoff dude, so there should still be more Initiative members than the Secret Warriors and Young Avengers combined. And I see Vision here... did he get fixed or am I missing something? And I gotta say, though he hasn't done much.... for some reason I really like the Ghost Rider ofspring kid. He's pretty cool I think.
So they are then rallied by the sound of lightning slamming the ground. They find Thor there, doing just that, summoning the heroes and the SKrulls together for a final battle. Captain America/Bucky is the first to show, and then Reed, Shanna, Brand, and the New and Mighty Avengers. Then Fury's crew shows up. Norman and the Thunderbolts come to play, and then Hood and his villains join the fray after that.
It all wraps up with an awsome exchange.
- Spider-Woman: "He Loves You"
- Spidey: "He Who?"
- Spider-Woman: "God."
- Fury: "Yeah, well, my God has a Hammer."
- Iron Man: "Right, Avengers Assemble!"
And the butt kicking commenses from there. It is a bit odd to see the "Avengers Assemble" line with characters in the background like Norman Osborn, Scarcrow, and Venom in scene, but it's cool.
I didn't care for the comic when I first read it, but after rereading it just now, I think I like it more and I find myself eager for the next issue.
And since most people, myself included, don't seem to give Bendis much praise, I'll say this. He's really got me liking the Hood. His mini was alright, and I liked him in it, and Beyond was okay... but it was actually Bendis who got me loving the character and I hope he keeps him going strong for a good long while to come.
And note... thanks to someone earlier mentioning it, I find myself in "where's waldo" mode searching for Howard the Duck. And yes, he's square between Stature's breasts where he should be. And dude I just noticed a cool looking Galactus skrull in the background of the final page. I'd like to see Stature take that dude out!
SI: Runaways & Young Avengers 3 of 3 - And this issue wraps up the Secret Invasion tie-in. It's not bad but a little underwhelming I think. The characters are good and I think Xavin really shined in this series, something he really needed I think. And Karolina is pretty cool in it too. While not among the best of the SI tie-ins, I'll say this at least. I haven't read Runaways since Vaughn left (yes I know, it's only been about 6 or so issues, but it's been forever due to delays I'm guessing, it feels like it anyway) and this mini has really got me missing them. So I picked up their new first issue with Moore and Ramos (ugh... Ramos). And I now plan on going back and rebuying all my old Runaways comics I had to sell due to financial troubles. So while the series was alright, it got me back into Runaways... so for that I mark it as a win.
SI: Inhumans 2 of 4 - This comic, Nova, and Guardians of the Galaxy... I feel are far removed from the Secret Invasion story due to them being offworld, that I kinda lump them in together as their own little Skrull stories... which is good I guess since they'll be tieing together for the War of the Kings storyline along with Vulcan, the Starjammers, and the Shi'ar. So for that, I'm not reading this as a SI tie-in, but rather a lead in to the WotKs. And for that, the book's got me hooked. It's cool to see the Inhumans kicking but, and even Maximus gets a kill or two in there. And something this issue really shows is that the Inhuman's core family an really hold their own. Everyone of them take out superskrulls in cool fashions in this issue. Good job Pokaski on that one. The core family of Medusa, Crystal, Karnak, Triton, and Gorgon then head into space to search for Blackbolt and his son... leaving Maximus behind to lead the Inhumans against the Skrull invasion. I'm assuming this'll put them in place for the War of Kings storyline coming up. A good read. Probably one of my favorate tie-ins thus far.... to both Secret Invasion and as a leadin to War of the Kings. Oh... and I'm loving the covers so far!
SI: X-Men 2 of 4 - The X-Men flee their first battle to recoup. Both Skrulls and X-Men start to replan their attacks and such. And the fighting continues. I like the teleporting guarilla tactics Cyclops puts into play (utilizing Nightcrawler and Pixie) and I like that there's X-Men from every time period united here. It's a litteral X-Army. We have characters that haven't been seen in a while like Dazzler, Northstar and Aurora, and Husk take stage... and there's even a reference to Husk and Angel's former relationship... so it's nice to have that continuity (a reason I like Mike Carey). X-Force comes in and does a good job, and I got a kick out of Pixie asking if Archangel was new. Cute niave moment. And Nightcrawler's still fiddling with that bible orb of his, which I'm assuming will lead to Nightcrawler being some type of hinderance to the X-Army.... and later finding a way to stop the Skrulls entirely.
Overall the issue was fine. It's cool to see that while the Initiative, Young Avengers, and Secret Warriors are holding New York, the X-Army is holding San Fran. While the X-Men haven't done anything in the main mini, this mini gives them a large role in the Invasion, keeping the west coast safe, so that's cool. It gives them a larger role than they had in the Civil War and World War Hulk, and I like that. Gives almost a sense of shared universe between Marvel and the X-Men doesn't it? Imagine that.
Deadpool 1 (SI tie-in) - I gotta say, I'm not feeling it. I'm loving the art, but the story just isn't doing much for me and the humor's a complete miss. None of his other ongoings could hold my interest, and the Cable/Deadpool series was good for me because it bounce them off one another, but now we're back to just Deadpool and I find myself bored already. But to be fair, I'll give it through the Secret Invasion tie-in issues before dropping it. I could still be impressed.
And lastly...
Green Arrow and Black Canary 12 - Heh... I gotta say, BrianWilly's long thoughtout review on this is the best review of the week for me. And I agree for the most part. It's the culmination of the search for Conner storyline that, let's be honest, has sucked all the way through and drug on way to long. I'm not a DC reader really and only read this and just recently Green Lantern. And there were so many times I gathered these comics up to sell on ebay, but after skimming them I keep coming accross the first 5 issues... which made me LOVE the comic, and so I kept holding on. Now this issue marks the end of the arc... thankfully, and I'm hoping the issues to come are better so I can keep reading it.
How the heck can one series go from issue 4... being one of my all time favorate comics I've ever read (being a father myself) to just a few issues later comtemplating selling the whole lot? Winick must really be a hit or miss writer to offshoot that bad! Here's hoping he stears back to the win section of the spectrum soon.
Secret Invasion 6 of 8 - Not a bad issue, but I think I'm ready for all this Skrull stuff to wrap up. Fortunately we only have 2 more issue to go, and I think most of the tie-ins are wrapping up as well. Good stuff.
As for the actual story, it's not bad. I was surprised by the opener and the death of Captain Marvel. The scene between him and Marvel Boy was good, but Captain Marvel had such good build up in Reed's mini series that I was hoping more would come of him here. I knew he was going to die due to the Hulkling issue of YA Presents saying that Hulkling never saw him again, but to just kinda die quickly in a page without any sort of build up or anything just felt kinda hollow.
The story then goes to some skrull conversation while showing some stuff going on in other various tie-ins (X-Men, Black Panther, Inhumans, etc.). It's nice to see other titles acknowledged, but I"d rather it be seen in story than just quick panels adding nothing to the story.
The next scene has me curious, I'd admit. When Pym and Spider-Woman are discussing the invasion, Pym asks her if Janet Van Dyne is with the Avengers. And since she is, he says that they'll win. This makes me wonder if Wasp is also a Skrull, but I guess we'll see.
I have to say that I enjoyed the gathering of heroes (and villains). It felt a bit rushed, but it still felt good. It starts with Fury coming back out with his Seret Warriors, the Young Avengers, and the Initiative. It notes "what's left of the Initiative" but the only one who died was that Geldoff dude, so there should still be more Initiative members than the Secret Warriors and Young Avengers combined. And I see Vision here... did he get fixed or am I missing something? And I gotta say, though he hasn't done much.... for some reason I really like the Ghost Rider ofspring kid. He's pretty cool I think.
So they are then rallied by the sound of lightning slamming the ground. They find Thor there, doing just that, summoning the heroes and the SKrulls together for a final battle. Captain America/Bucky is the first to show, and then Reed, Shanna, Brand, and the New and Mighty Avengers. Then Fury's crew shows up. Norman and the Thunderbolts come to play, and then Hood and his villains join the fray after that.
It all wraps up with an awsome exchange.
- Spider-Woman: "He Loves You"
- Spidey: "He Who?"
- Spider-Woman: "God."
- Fury: "Yeah, well, my God has a Hammer."
- Iron Man: "Right, Avengers Assemble!"
And the butt kicking commenses from there. It is a bit odd to see the "Avengers Assemble" line with characters in the background like Norman Osborn, Scarcrow, and Venom in scene, but it's cool.
I didn't care for the comic when I first read it, but after rereading it just now, I think I like it more and I find myself eager for the next issue.
And since most people, myself included, don't seem to give Bendis much praise, I'll say this. He's really got me liking the Hood. His mini was alright, and I liked him in it, and Beyond was okay... but it was actually Bendis who got me loving the character and I hope he keeps him going strong for a good long while to come.
And note... thanks to someone earlier mentioning it, I find myself in "where's waldo" mode searching for Howard the Duck. And yes, he's square between Stature's breasts where he should be. And dude I just noticed a cool looking Galactus skrull in the background of the final page. I'd like to see Stature take that dude out!
SI: Runaways & Young Avengers 3 of 3 - And this issue wraps up the Secret Invasion tie-in. It's not bad but a little underwhelming I think. The characters are good and I think Xavin really shined in this series, something he really needed I think. And Karolina is pretty cool in it too. While not among the best of the SI tie-ins, I'll say this at least. I haven't read Runaways since Vaughn left (yes I know, it's only been about 6 or so issues, but it's been forever due to delays I'm guessing, it feels like it anyway) and this mini has really got me missing them. So I picked up their new first issue with Moore and Ramos (ugh... Ramos). And I now plan on going back and rebuying all my old Runaways comics I had to sell due to financial troubles. So while the series was alright, it got me back into Runaways... so for that I mark it as a win.
SI: Inhumans 2 of 4 - This comic, Nova, and Guardians of the Galaxy... I feel are far removed from the Secret Invasion story due to them being offworld, that I kinda lump them in together as their own little Skrull stories... which is good I guess since they'll be tieing together for the War of the Kings storyline along with Vulcan, the Starjammers, and the Shi'ar. So for that, I'm not reading this as a SI tie-in, but rather a lead in to the WotKs. And for that, the book's got me hooked. It's cool to see the Inhumans kicking but, and even Maximus gets a kill or two in there. And something this issue really shows is that the Inhuman's core family an really hold their own. Everyone of them take out superskrulls in cool fashions in this issue. Good job Pokaski on that one. The core family of Medusa, Crystal, Karnak, Triton, and Gorgon then head into space to search for Blackbolt and his son... leaving Maximus behind to lead the Inhumans against the Skrull invasion. I'm assuming this'll put them in place for the War of Kings storyline coming up. A good read. Probably one of my favorate tie-ins thus far.... to both Secret Invasion and as a leadin to War of the Kings. Oh... and I'm loving the covers so far!
SI: X-Men 2 of 4 - The X-Men flee their first battle to recoup. Both Skrulls and X-Men start to replan their attacks and such. And the fighting continues. I like the teleporting guarilla tactics Cyclops puts into play (utilizing Nightcrawler and Pixie) and I like that there's X-Men from every time period united here. It's a litteral X-Army. We have characters that haven't been seen in a while like Dazzler, Northstar and Aurora, and Husk take stage... and there's even a reference to Husk and Angel's former relationship... so it's nice to have that continuity (a reason I like Mike Carey). X-Force comes in and does a good job, and I got a kick out of Pixie asking if Archangel was new. Cute niave moment. And Nightcrawler's still fiddling with that bible orb of his, which I'm assuming will lead to Nightcrawler being some type of hinderance to the X-Army.... and later finding a way to stop the Skrulls entirely.
Overall the issue was fine. It's cool to see that while the Initiative, Young Avengers, and Secret Warriors are holding New York, the X-Army is holding San Fran. While the X-Men haven't done anything in the main mini, this mini gives them a large role in the Invasion, keeping the west coast safe, so that's cool. It gives them a larger role than they had in the Civil War and World War Hulk, and I like that. Gives almost a sense of shared universe between Marvel and the X-Men doesn't it? Imagine that.
Deadpool 1 (SI tie-in) - I gotta say, I'm not feeling it. I'm loving the art, but the story just isn't doing much for me and the humor's a complete miss. None of his other ongoings could hold my interest, and the Cable/Deadpool series was good for me because it bounce them off one another, but now we're back to just Deadpool and I find myself bored already. But to be fair, I'll give it through the Secret Invasion tie-in issues before dropping it. I could still be impressed.
And lastly...
Green Arrow and Black Canary 12 - Heh... I gotta say, BrianWilly's long thoughtout review on this is the best review of the week for me. And I agree for the most part. It's the culmination of the search for Conner storyline that, let's be honest, has sucked all the way through and drug on way to long. I'm not a DC reader really and only read this and just recently Green Lantern. And there were so many times I gathered these comics up to sell on ebay, but after skimming them I keep coming accross the first 5 issues... which made me LOVE the comic, and so I kept holding on. Now this issue marks the end of the arc... thankfully, and I'm hoping the issues to come are better so I can keep reading it.
How the heck can one series go from issue 4... being one of my all time favorate comics I've ever read (being a father myself) to just a few issues later comtemplating selling the whole lot? Winick must really be a hit or miss writer to offshoot that bad! Here's hoping he stears back to the win section of the spectrum soon.
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CaptainCanada
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Actually, in that case, he's a rape victim.
Part I: Stuff That Isn't Secret Invasion
Booster Gold #12
Well that was...confusing. The first issue was reasonably straightforward, but this story is almost purposefully nutty in all the time-travel paradoxes as Booster and Michelle run around classic Gotham with little regard for causing any disruptions in the timestream as they do it (including breaking into the Gordons' house and getting almost-arrested on multiple occasions). It's mostly played for humour, of course, so perhaps it's one of those things you shouldn't think about too much. My favourite bit was when the Commissioner, after catching sight of Michelle disguised as Batgirl, becomes desperate to believe that that's the real Batgirl, and that his daughter (who he subconsciously knows/suspects, isn't). Jurgens' art is customarily good. And, unusually for a fill-in run, it ends with a hook for future stories, suggesting Jurgens had some input in the content, which is nice (although it also means I perhaps shouldn't skip Remender's two-parter).
Criminal #5
Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips' crime noir series' latest arc, "Bad Night", hits its second issue. This is an enjoyable book, but I can rarely summon up a whole lot to say about it for whatever reason. It's a fairly straightforward story of a guy getting in over his head because of a femme fatale (although this is subverted a bit in that said fatale is in the same situation as he is, and even less knowledgeable). The continuing surreal touch of Jacob's fictional character Det. Kafka as an hallucinatory advisor is fun, as are the little touches about his strip's nature (such as the perfect description of how satisfying a very petty act of revenge is, or why his strip, which can never be cancelled thanks to his patron Sebastian Hyde, is something of a trap because he has total artistic freedom).
Wonder Woman #24
This issue is divided into two parts:
Part I: Diana and Nemesis go to Themyscira on a date to meet Hippolyta.
Result: Teh Suck, since it involves several pages of totally forced interaction between Diana and Nemesis. Die, Nemesis.
Part II: Diana goes to Hollywood to meet with some producers out to make a Wonder Woman movie, only to discover, surprise surprise, that somebody's up to no good.
Result: Pretty awesome, since things that don't involve Nemesis or 'Diana Prince' in this title tend to be good.
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Dread
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Another week, another sack of books. It was a large SECRET INVASION week, but I mercifully only got two titles. As always, full spoilers.
Dread's Bought/Thought for 9/10/08 - The Non-Marvel Bits:
BOOSTER GOLD #12: Chuck Dixon wraps up his "last script I turned in before DC sacked me" fill in stint on BOOSTER GOLD, and it solicts for the next issue are to be believed, Dan Jurgens & Norm Rapmund will be leaving, too. It was great having Jurgens return to the character he co-created and it will be a shame losing his iconic, incredible art. It's been both classic and energetic; not too dated or trying to ape trends (like manga rip-off artists from the 90's era).
Naturally, Dixon wore his heart on his sleeve for this one, having Booster muck around with the Batman mythos, which he has had the most experience with. But that is perfectly fine, and after the last arc with Mr. Mind and timeline-hopping mega-villains, a more lower-key adventure was a nice way to break things up here. In trying to foil a minor time-hopping thief, Booster has screwed up Batman's timeline so that Killer Moth became the scourge of Gotham. Now he and his sister have to go back and, uh, undo his LAST attempt to fix time, all while avoiding "Booster from 10 Minutes Ago". It is complicated and annoying like a lot of time travel stories are, but it is played for laughs, especially with Michelle acting as a POV character. Her addition seems to have done wonders for the book, giving someone else for Booster to play off of besides Skeets and Rip. Not that I don't like the interactions between those three; it just means that adding her sister was a good move for Johns & Katz, and Dixon picked up the ball.
Surprisingly, Alfred isn't nearly as uneager to kill people as Batman is when he unloads some lead on the time-travelers, but is quickly subdued. Unfortunately, he prevents Booster from stealing another Bat-costume, so they make due with stealing the Batmobile and having Michelle steal Batgirl's outfit (and confuse the heck out of Jim Gordon). The highlight for me was Booster reduced to renting an Elvis outfit to wear into battle. Considering how weird Gotham criminals are, an Elvis themed character would fit right in there between Maxie Zeus and Mad Hatter. The pair manage to fix things and save the timeline, but Rip is lost elsewhere and Elongated Man is investigating a mystery.
In a way it seems odd to have Dixon cut off on a bit of a cliffhanger; most fill-in's try to be complete. I wonder if this means the editorial board has some set agenda for this book? At any rate, I see it as DC's lighter hearted answer to EXILES from Marvel, only it actually outsells EXILES (BG hovers around 34k sales; NEW EXILES under Claremont has dipped to 24k, a franchise low). Most of what DC does leaves me bewildered, but BOOSTER GOLD has been a solid, adventurous ride thus far. I hope the next guest stint on the book doesn't disappoint. Considering Starro has the distinction of being the JLA's first villain (but not their goofiest, amazingly), it could be interesting. Even if Starro's schtick is a bit predictable. He's a classic, damn it!
One of few DC books I enjoy enough to get and worth your time for superhero fans. I am curious how sales will hold up without gimmick covers or big name creative teams like Johns, Dixon, and Jurgens. And hopefully the next crew can pull off something like BLUE BEETLE has accomplished and seemlessly continue the stories along.
DYNAMO 5 #16: A clever mock up of the first print of issue #1's cover, featuring the new (and temporary) roster of Dynamo 5, assembled by the sole remaining member Scrap to protect the city with the rest disbanded. Hey, at least DYNAMO 5 waited until after a year's worth of issues and an annual to "disband", unlike some teams that appear to do it every 6 issues.
Finishing out the roster are the mother/daughter Firebird(s), Virgil the gritty femme fatale, and Quake, ex-Capt. Dynamo sidekick who needs "head meds" to not go berserk. All run by Augie, Maddie's agent pal. They manage to protect the city from the Veil gang, but their personalities still bristle a bit with each other, and Scrap struggles with the role of leadership. Although it seemed weird for her to be in that role considering "Mother" Firebird appeared more level headed and mature (if not a bit doting), but naturally Scrap is the last founder so it falls to her. She laments the state of the city following her team's disbanding, but "Mother" Firebird encourages her to focus on the present, not the past. I did find it cute when Quake hit on Firebird although Virgil is a bit too "cliche gritty loner" for me right now and compared to the others, she seems there by convenience to the point where I wonder if she's an enemy in disguise.
In the meantime, Slingshot tries reaching out to Myriad, whose revelation to being an alien (as well as a mack-daddy) helped cause the team to break up, but his "lady of the week" prevents it. Gage allows Chang to come to a "jock" party, and the two are still at odds over what to do with their lives. Visionary still wants to be a hero (although not put his mother in danger again), but Gage seems content with returning to his civilian life, even if it means the occasional "telepathic cheating at football" to win. I felt this was a very real sort of dilemma and it was interesting to read, although Scrap pops in at the last minute to tell the pair that Maddie is alive.
As always, Faerber succeeds here because he has taken the time to build these characters and play to things that have happened before. Dynamo 5 is a bit dysfunctional, but what team isn't? What I like about the book is it mixes the right dose of humor, action, maturity, and some hints of darkness without being "Gritty Urban Bleak Porn" that some superhero comics are (or try to be). It gets that balance just right, not unlike INVINCIBLE. Of course you could see the roster switch as a temporary, maybe even predictable gimmick, but considering it is "team formula" to dump the founders at some point for new people, I thought it was handled well. I like seeing more of Quake, and feel he'd make a worthy ally to the team in the future. A Dynamo 6? It would be interesting having someone who wasn't related on once in a while. Asrar's art and Riley's colors are as solid as always on this title, and while the consistent delays are annoying (this book is maybe a month late), I don't mind them so much. Not everyone is still interested in this series, but for me this is solid, meat-and-potatoes superhero stuff that isn't trying to be more or less than what it wants to be. It isn't afraid of genre conventions or feels the need to apologize for them. The only complaint I guess is the villains are kind of stock a lot of the time, hitting or missing depending on Asrar's design, but considering the focus is on the interaction between the family of heroes (which I imagine NOBLE CAUSES is like too), it can be overlooked. After all, next issue promises a dive, literally, into Maddie's psyche. Should be very interesting.
Yeah, paying $3.50 for 20 pages is a bit overpriced, but is it worse than $3.99 for nothing but a cardstock cover? I'm sure Image would be willing to lower the price back to $2.99 if it sold better, but that's a bit of a futile hope. It's probably good enough that it sells within the Top 150.
And I am SO considering getting that DYNAMO 5 T-Shirt.
INVINCIBLE #52: Still hands down my favorite superhero book around, although quite a few Marvel books tie it, INVINCIBLE has also seen it's share of delays. Not as bad as ASTOUNDING WOLF-MAN, but enough to feel noticed, and make the book feel a bit rare, shipping at a bimonthly pace most times. The cover implies a fight but don't be fooled; the conflict between Mark and his speed-growing half-brother Oliver is more in ideals and philosophy than fisticuffs.
The Mauler Twins are back and have plowed through the same missle silo that the Lizard League tried conquering a few issues ago. They have some Maguffin gun that allowed them to beat the Global Guardians and set off to use a nuke to fry the world's satellites (while arguing that "controlling" the world isn't the same as "taking it over". Feh, even bad guys argue over semantics). Invincible still isn't recognized in his new costume and is being thought to be a new hero called "Invinciboy" based on his TV gaffe; without Cecil's intel, Mark is reduced to waiting until his mom spots something on CNN to leap into action, which is a change but in a way grounds Mark a bit for me. "Kid Omni-Man" insists on tagging along and while Mark tends to the nuke, Oliver tends to the Maulers...
And slays them.
Everyone was expecting a quirky kid sidekick here, but in this issue Kirkman reveals a darker side to the boy, reminding us that while Mark may be half-human and raised with their sentiments, Oliver isn't, and hasn't. He's half Viltrumite, half Mantis. He lived most of his childhood with Nolan. The way the Mantis people's physiology was (they would be born, absorb a lot of data, reproduce, and die in a very short time span), Oliver as a baby was likely absorbing months or years worth of memories and input. Oliver hasn't experienced Nolan's "dark side" like Mark did, and views Earth as an outsider (even with tutoring). Maybe having Oliver NOT be lock step with Mark is predictable in itself, but I think it flows well with the tone of the last story. Mark is growing up a bit and has learned by example that people he trusts can have alterior motives that he doesn't agree with, and can outright lie or manipulate him. Cecil was an ally and even mentor at times, and he was stashing Mark's enemies behind his back. In some ways, Oliver is more of a realist, while Mark's idealism is being tested now. While Mark at least tries to repress his "Viltrumite temper", Oliver doesn't. Mark also is being forced into a mentor role with a kid a lot sooner than he expected, and seeing him go from rookie hero to someone trying to teach another like himself is refreshing for a fan of some comics that seem to never advance or progress. INVINCIBLE isn't one of those.
Fco Plascencia's color still take some getting used to, but he uses an added effect to the gore scenes that makes them seem more distinct. It takes some getting used to, and it seems like a bit more effort (I liked how the blood would match the cartoony look of Ottley's pencils, making the gore more jarring), but it seems he wants to try to aim for a look of real blood over what Kirkman usually quipped "ketchup".
Oliver, thinking like an alien who is not quite "native" yet, feels it illogical to leave bad guys alive and doesn't believe all humans are precious lives. Mark admits that he does "sometimes" agree with his father, especially (by implication) now. In the letter page, Kirkman is proud of the next 7 issues or so and things really are heating up on this book after a bit of a while in a "status quo", with the only drawback being the wait between issues. The fact that Kirkman's role at Image has become larger likely won't help that time frame any.
Considering the Mauler Twins are perpetually clonable, I doubt they are dead forever. I also am interested in the LONG overdue return of Titan the Gangster. I mean, that plot point was dropped, literally over two years ago. After all the time in space I am fine with some more down-to-earth stuff like has been happening now.
Invincible also took an exploding nuclear warhead to the body and didn't seem terribly fazed. Either he got far enough way (distance in space is hard to gauge), or he's REALLY gotten tougher. Considering his reaction, probably the latter, which is cool.
As always, a pleasure every 22 pages I get. I just hate that it's become so rare. Of course, so are gems.
Dread's Bought/Thought for 9/10/08 - The Non-Marvel Bits:
BOOSTER GOLD #12: Chuck Dixon wraps up his "last script I turned in before DC sacked me" fill in stint on BOOSTER GOLD, and it solicts for the next issue are to be believed, Dan Jurgens & Norm Rapmund will be leaving, too. It was great having Jurgens return to the character he co-created and it will be a shame losing his iconic, incredible art. It's been both classic and energetic; not too dated or trying to ape trends (like manga rip-off artists from the 90's era).
Naturally, Dixon wore his heart on his sleeve for this one, having Booster muck around with the Batman mythos, which he has had the most experience with. But that is perfectly fine, and after the last arc with Mr. Mind and timeline-hopping mega-villains, a more lower-key adventure was a nice way to break things up here. In trying to foil a minor time-hopping thief, Booster has screwed up Batman's timeline so that Killer Moth became the scourge of Gotham. Now he and his sister have to go back and, uh, undo his LAST attempt to fix time, all while avoiding "Booster from 10 Minutes Ago". It is complicated and annoying like a lot of time travel stories are, but it is played for laughs, especially with Michelle acting as a POV character. Her addition seems to have done wonders for the book, giving someone else for Booster to play off of besides Skeets and Rip. Not that I don't like the interactions between those three; it just means that adding her sister was a good move for Johns & Katz, and Dixon picked up the ball.
Surprisingly, Alfred isn't nearly as uneager to kill people as Batman is when he unloads some lead on the time-travelers, but is quickly subdued. Unfortunately, he prevents Booster from stealing another Bat-costume, so they make due with stealing the Batmobile and having Michelle steal Batgirl's outfit (and confuse the heck out of Jim Gordon). The highlight for me was Booster reduced to renting an Elvis outfit to wear into battle. Considering how weird Gotham criminals are, an Elvis themed character would fit right in there between Maxie Zeus and Mad Hatter. The pair manage to fix things and save the timeline, but Rip is lost elsewhere and Elongated Man is investigating a mystery.
In a way it seems odd to have Dixon cut off on a bit of a cliffhanger; most fill-in's try to be complete. I wonder if this means the editorial board has some set agenda for this book? At any rate, I see it as DC's lighter hearted answer to EXILES from Marvel, only it actually outsells EXILES (BG hovers around 34k sales; NEW EXILES under Claremont has dipped to 24k, a franchise low). Most of what DC does leaves me bewildered, but BOOSTER GOLD has been a solid, adventurous ride thus far. I hope the next guest stint on the book doesn't disappoint. Considering Starro has the distinction of being the JLA's first villain (but not their goofiest, amazingly), it could be interesting. Even if Starro's schtick is a bit predictable. He's a classic, damn it!
One of few DC books I enjoy enough to get and worth your time for superhero fans. I am curious how sales will hold up without gimmick covers or big name creative teams like Johns, Dixon, and Jurgens. And hopefully the next crew can pull off something like BLUE BEETLE has accomplished and seemlessly continue the stories along.
DYNAMO 5 #16: A clever mock up of the first print of issue #1's cover, featuring the new (and temporary) roster of Dynamo 5, assembled by the sole remaining member Scrap to protect the city with the rest disbanded. Hey, at least DYNAMO 5 waited until after a year's worth of issues and an annual to "disband", unlike some teams that appear to do it every 6 issues.
Finishing out the roster are the mother/daughter Firebird(s), Virgil the gritty femme fatale, and Quake, ex-Capt. Dynamo sidekick who needs "head meds" to not go berserk. All run by Augie, Maddie's agent pal. They manage to protect the city from the Veil gang, but their personalities still bristle a bit with each other, and Scrap struggles with the role of leadership. Although it seemed weird for her to be in that role considering "Mother" Firebird appeared more level headed and mature (if not a bit doting), but naturally Scrap is the last founder so it falls to her. She laments the state of the city following her team's disbanding, but "Mother" Firebird encourages her to focus on the present, not the past. I did find it cute when Quake hit on Firebird although Virgil is a bit too "cliche gritty loner" for me right now and compared to the others, she seems there by convenience to the point where I wonder if she's an enemy in disguise.
In the meantime, Slingshot tries reaching out to Myriad, whose revelation to being an alien (as well as a mack-daddy) helped cause the team to break up, but his "lady of the week" prevents it. Gage allows Chang to come to a "jock" party, and the two are still at odds over what to do with their lives. Visionary still wants to be a hero (although not put his mother in danger again), but Gage seems content with returning to his civilian life, even if it means the occasional "telepathic cheating at football" to win. I felt this was a very real sort of dilemma and it was interesting to read, although Scrap pops in at the last minute to tell the pair that Maddie is alive.
As always, Faerber succeeds here because he has taken the time to build these characters and play to things that have happened before. Dynamo 5 is a bit dysfunctional, but what team isn't? What I like about the book is it mixes the right dose of humor, action, maturity, and some hints of darkness without being "Gritty Urban Bleak Porn" that some superhero comics are (or try to be). It gets that balance just right, not unlike INVINCIBLE. Of course you could see the roster switch as a temporary, maybe even predictable gimmick, but considering it is "team formula" to dump the founders at some point for new people, I thought it was handled well. I like seeing more of Quake, and feel he'd make a worthy ally to the team in the future. A Dynamo 6? It would be interesting having someone who wasn't related on once in a while. Asrar's art and Riley's colors are as solid as always on this title, and while the consistent delays are annoying (this book is maybe a month late), I don't mind them so much. Not everyone is still interested in this series, but for me this is solid, meat-and-potatoes superhero stuff that isn't trying to be more or less than what it wants to be. It isn't afraid of genre conventions or feels the need to apologize for them. The only complaint I guess is the villains are kind of stock a lot of the time, hitting or missing depending on Asrar's design, but considering the focus is on the interaction between the family of heroes (which I imagine NOBLE CAUSES is like too), it can be overlooked. After all, next issue promises a dive, literally, into Maddie's psyche. Should be very interesting.
Yeah, paying $3.50 for 20 pages is a bit overpriced, but is it worse than $3.99 for nothing but a cardstock cover? I'm sure Image would be willing to lower the price back to $2.99 if it sold better, but that's a bit of a futile hope. It's probably good enough that it sells within the Top 150.
And I am SO considering getting that DYNAMO 5 T-Shirt.
INVINCIBLE #52: Still hands down my favorite superhero book around, although quite a few Marvel books tie it, INVINCIBLE has also seen it's share of delays. Not as bad as ASTOUNDING WOLF-MAN, but enough to feel noticed, and make the book feel a bit rare, shipping at a bimonthly pace most times. The cover implies a fight but don't be fooled; the conflict between Mark and his speed-growing half-brother Oliver is more in ideals and philosophy than fisticuffs.
The Mauler Twins are back and have plowed through the same missle silo that the Lizard League tried conquering a few issues ago. They have some Maguffin gun that allowed them to beat the Global Guardians and set off to use a nuke to fry the world's satellites (while arguing that "controlling" the world isn't the same as "taking it over". Feh, even bad guys argue over semantics). Invincible still isn't recognized in his new costume and is being thought to be a new hero called "Invinciboy" based on his TV gaffe; without Cecil's intel, Mark is reduced to waiting until his mom spots something on CNN to leap into action, which is a change but in a way grounds Mark a bit for me. "Kid Omni-Man" insists on tagging along and while Mark tends to the nuke, Oliver tends to the Maulers...
And slays them.
Everyone was expecting a quirky kid sidekick here, but in this issue Kirkman reveals a darker side to the boy, reminding us that while Mark may be half-human and raised with their sentiments, Oliver isn't, and hasn't. He's half Viltrumite, half Mantis. He lived most of his childhood with Nolan. The way the Mantis people's physiology was (they would be born, absorb a lot of data, reproduce, and die in a very short time span), Oliver as a baby was likely absorbing months or years worth of memories and input. Oliver hasn't experienced Nolan's "dark side" like Mark did, and views Earth as an outsider (even with tutoring). Maybe having Oliver NOT be lock step with Mark is predictable in itself, but I think it flows well with the tone of the last story. Mark is growing up a bit and has learned by example that people he trusts can have alterior motives that he doesn't agree with, and can outright lie or manipulate him. Cecil was an ally and even mentor at times, and he was stashing Mark's enemies behind his back. In some ways, Oliver is more of a realist, while Mark's idealism is being tested now. While Mark at least tries to repress his "Viltrumite temper", Oliver doesn't. Mark also is being forced into a mentor role with a kid a lot sooner than he expected, and seeing him go from rookie hero to someone trying to teach another like himself is refreshing for a fan of some comics that seem to never advance or progress. INVINCIBLE isn't one of those.
Fco Plascencia's color still take some getting used to, but he uses an added effect to the gore scenes that makes them seem more distinct. It takes some getting used to, and it seems like a bit more effort (I liked how the blood would match the cartoony look of Ottley's pencils, making the gore more jarring), but it seems he wants to try to aim for a look of real blood over what Kirkman usually quipped "ketchup".
Oliver, thinking like an alien who is not quite "native" yet, feels it illogical to leave bad guys alive and doesn't believe all humans are precious lives. Mark admits that he does "sometimes" agree with his father, especially (by implication) now. In the letter page, Kirkman is proud of the next 7 issues or so and things really are heating up on this book after a bit of a while in a "status quo", with the only drawback being the wait between issues. The fact that Kirkman's role at Image has become larger likely won't help that time frame any.
Considering the Mauler Twins are perpetually clonable, I doubt they are dead forever. I also am interested in the LONG overdue return of Titan the Gangster. I mean, that plot point was dropped, literally over two years ago. After all the time in space I am fine with some more down-to-earth stuff like has been happening now.
Invincible also took an exploding nuclear warhead to the body and didn't seem terribly fazed. Either he got far enough way (distance in space is hard to gauge), or he's REALLY gotten tougher. Considering his reaction, probably the latter, which is cool.
As always, a pleasure every 22 pages I get. I just hate that it's become so rare. Of course, so are gems.
Dread
TMNT 1984-2009
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Part II: The Marvel Zombie, Skrull Lite Bits
BIG HERO 6 #1: I debated getting this, knowing that Chris Claremont hasn't been in his prime for...oh...maybe 15 years or so (and especially within the last 10). Much like hair metal, he peaked in the 80's with the X-Men and usually recycles things. But here is a newer franchise that, at the very least, will make it harder for him to tell Storm fetish stories. Although if I see mind control, I may become irked.
Created by Scott Lobdell and Gus Vasquez in 1998, Big Hero 6 seems like an idea that should have worked, but didn't. In the age of manga and anime popularity, they are a team of quirky Japanese superheroes in Tokyo. If NY with 8 million people has a gazillion heroes, you would expect a least a few in the much-more-populous Japan, right? Unfortunately, it was headlined by C-List X-Characters like Sunfire and Silver Samurai, and the newer characters didn't take. They were quirky but seemed a bit flat. After the 90's series flopped, the team popped up here and there in guest appearances, most notably in ALPHA FLIGHT a few years ago. Silver Samurai has come and gone between stints being "seemingly dead" or brainwashed or villainous, and was replaced by a stock copy named Ebon Samurai. Sunfire was even replaced by an alternate reality version who also died.
Claremont and Nakayama reimagine the team a bit, keeping the core members of kid genius Hiro Takachio, his robot Baymax, Honey Lemon, and Go Go Tomago. They all get some redesigns to better fit the anime/manga themes, and Baymax gets the biggest redesign. He looks more robotic than dragon, and reminds me a lot of an anime character named HEAT GUY J (which is a good show, FYI; I own it but it aired on MTV2 about 5 years ago). The major caveat is that a big plot point to Baymax is that he literally has Hiro's dead father's brain patterns in his programming; that major detail isn't mentioned at all here. Neither is the new member "Fred", who according to the sketch pages, replaces Baymax in the "dragon" department. Wasabi No-Ginger serves as the obligatory swordsman on the team, but has a bit more character to him than the last two armored samurai. They may seem like manga/anime cliches, but, considering where they come from, it makes sense. It is good to see Claremont and Nakayama embrace that. If any book should try to emulate anime/manga, it is Big Hero 6.
The plot centers around Hiro trying to balance his civilian and "government hero" angle, all while trying to keep his grades up and avoid his overly zany teammates, who aren't afraid to embarass him at school. Formerly 10 years old in 1998, Hiro is a "teenager" now, noting that unlike Franklin Richards, he's been allowed to age somewhat (I would guess maybe 13). A supervillain attack hits his school and naturally Big Hero 6 leaps into the fray. Of course, it is all part of a bigger plot, involving another secret government agent and a trip to New York City.
Claremont as usual maintains his "old school" writing style that is often outdated. By that I mean that he sees fit to write an entire paragraph to describe what his capable artist has already shown clearly. It was par for the course 30 years ago but now almost seems like spoon-feeding. On the upside, I don't mind a little exposition that explains a new character's powers, or the names of people being pummeled (unlike, say, END LEAGUE, where you need Letters Pages and Recaps to learn everyone's name). Honey Lemon is as zany as her power (she pulls magic items out of her purse; embracing some anime gender stereotypes), although the two I like the most right now are Baymax and Wasabi.
I could do without the automatic trip to NYC, though; Tokyo is a vast landscape and frankly for a Japanese team, Big Hero 6 has spent a lot of time traveling to other countries in their history. Aren't there leagues of villains in Japan? Or crime? There should be if, again, less populous cities like NYC or San Francisco seem to have hundreds of villains and heroes. Part of the allure of team books based in other countries is to ESCAPE the confines of NY for a change, like CAPTAIN BRITAIN AND MI-13, but here we go with a Manhattan field trip by issue #2. It seems obligatory.
Aside for that, though, there aren't too many negatives. It is very verbose, but frankly Claremont helped inspire that style. The tone is fun and fast paced, which I liked. I look forward to meeting "Fredzilla" and most of the redesigns are for the better. It seems awkward to not at least mention things like the loss of Sunfire or Silver Samurai, but I guess BH6 isn't trying to be too "deep" yet. Considering Claremont's "steady" audience of readers has shrunk to maybe 24k or less, I am curious how well this debuted. It seemingly is a 5 issue mini, but the trade dress implies an ongoing. I DO like the handbook bio's in the back, to get everyone down with the cast, even if it did pad the price to $3.99. It may be a bit much for a team most casual fans have never heard of and most hardcore ones wouldn't bother with. It doesn't try to be more than it is, though, and I'm all game for some zany fun here.
Just...no mind control, Claremont, PLLEEEEAAAASSEEEE. He does that more often than Ultimate Spider-Man gets unmasked.
PATSY WALKER: HELLCAT #3: Speaking of zany superhero books, we have the cult mini HELLCAT from Immonen (the wife, not the dude) and Lafuente. It seems every superhero book that isn't gritty or knee deep in Skrulls is goofy this week. I guess being Skrull-free is worth being happy about.
The first issue sold at 19.5k; below the Top 100. That is quite dire, although considering it is a "sequal" to a low selling MARVEL COMICS PRESENTS run from last year, I am unsure what could have been expected. This thing might be selling below ARCHIE and all 100 of his new title logo's by issue #5. But I understand; it is an acquired taste, and frankly even I am not sure why I kind of like it.
Hellcat continues her oddball magical quest through the Alaskan world, teaming up with hulking supernatural beasts, talking totems, and even venturing into the underworld. The recap page is still one of the more unque ones you see in comics and Hellcat's chipper one-liners border on the funny, to bizarre, to almost random. Some could claim that she is horribly out of character here, considering all the dark stuff that has happened to her. But this version from Mrs. Immonen is more interesting; I'd rather read this than some emo-fest about how Hellcat's formerly been insane and married to the son of Satan. If I have to choose between quirky and generic, I pick the former.
Lafente's light-hearted art is great and matches the tone very well. Hellcat has a bit of a simple design but he makes her pop, whether it is spanking critters or being silly.
How about this for a one-shot; Hellcat and Squirrel-Girl at the mall, and Hydra attacks. Hilarity ensues.
I can't recommend this to everyone, and in the grand scheme of things is probably skippable. But as a lark, like a swig of Crazy Stix sugar, it can be enjoyed.
Skrull-Stuff comin' tomorrow...
BIG HERO 6 #1: I debated getting this, knowing that Chris Claremont hasn't been in his prime for...oh...maybe 15 years or so (and especially within the last 10). Much like hair metal, he peaked in the 80's with the X-Men and usually recycles things. But here is a newer franchise that, at the very least, will make it harder for him to tell Storm fetish stories. Although if I see mind control, I may become irked.
Created by Scott Lobdell and Gus Vasquez in 1998, Big Hero 6 seems like an idea that should have worked, but didn't. In the age of manga and anime popularity, they are a team of quirky Japanese superheroes in Tokyo. If NY with 8 million people has a gazillion heroes, you would expect a least a few in the much-more-populous Japan, right? Unfortunately, it was headlined by C-List X-Characters like Sunfire and Silver Samurai, and the newer characters didn't take. They were quirky but seemed a bit flat. After the 90's series flopped, the team popped up here and there in guest appearances, most notably in ALPHA FLIGHT a few years ago. Silver Samurai has come and gone between stints being "seemingly dead" or brainwashed or villainous, and was replaced by a stock copy named Ebon Samurai. Sunfire was even replaced by an alternate reality version who also died.
Claremont and Nakayama reimagine the team a bit, keeping the core members of kid genius Hiro Takachio, his robot Baymax, Honey Lemon, and Go Go Tomago. They all get some redesigns to better fit the anime/manga themes, and Baymax gets the biggest redesign. He looks more robotic than dragon, and reminds me a lot of an anime character named HEAT GUY J (which is a good show, FYI; I own it but it aired on MTV2 about 5 years ago). The major caveat is that a big plot point to Baymax is that he literally has Hiro's dead father's brain patterns in his programming; that major detail isn't mentioned at all here. Neither is the new member "Fred", who according to the sketch pages, replaces Baymax in the "dragon" department. Wasabi No-Ginger serves as the obligatory swordsman on the team, but has a bit more character to him than the last two armored samurai. They may seem like manga/anime cliches, but, considering where they come from, it makes sense. It is good to see Claremont and Nakayama embrace that. If any book should try to emulate anime/manga, it is Big Hero 6.
The plot centers around Hiro trying to balance his civilian and "government hero" angle, all while trying to keep his grades up and avoid his overly zany teammates, who aren't afraid to embarass him at school. Formerly 10 years old in 1998, Hiro is a "teenager" now, noting that unlike Franklin Richards, he's been allowed to age somewhat (I would guess maybe 13). A supervillain attack hits his school and naturally Big Hero 6 leaps into the fray. Of course, it is all part of a bigger plot, involving another secret government agent and a trip to New York City.
Claremont as usual maintains his "old school" writing style that is often outdated. By that I mean that he sees fit to write an entire paragraph to describe what his capable artist has already shown clearly. It was par for the course 30 years ago but now almost seems like spoon-feeding. On the upside, I don't mind a little exposition that explains a new character's powers, or the names of people being pummeled (unlike, say, END LEAGUE, where you need Letters Pages and Recaps to learn everyone's name). Honey Lemon is as zany as her power (she pulls magic items out of her purse; embracing some anime gender stereotypes), although the two I like the most right now are Baymax and Wasabi.
I could do without the automatic trip to NYC, though; Tokyo is a vast landscape and frankly for a Japanese team, Big Hero 6 has spent a lot of time traveling to other countries in their history. Aren't there leagues of villains in Japan? Or crime? There should be if, again, less populous cities like NYC or San Francisco seem to have hundreds of villains and heroes. Part of the allure of team books based in other countries is to ESCAPE the confines of NY for a change, like CAPTAIN BRITAIN AND MI-13, but here we go with a Manhattan field trip by issue #2. It seems obligatory.
Aside for that, though, there aren't too many negatives. It is very verbose, but frankly Claremont helped inspire that style. The tone is fun and fast paced, which I liked. I look forward to meeting "Fredzilla" and most of the redesigns are for the better. It seems awkward to not at least mention things like the loss of Sunfire or Silver Samurai, but I guess BH6 isn't trying to be too "deep" yet. Considering Claremont's "steady" audience of readers has shrunk to maybe 24k or less, I am curious how well this debuted. It seemingly is a 5 issue mini, but the trade dress implies an ongoing. I DO like the handbook bio's in the back, to get everyone down with the cast, even if it did pad the price to $3.99. It may be a bit much for a team most casual fans have never heard of and most hardcore ones wouldn't bother with. It doesn't try to be more than it is, though, and I'm all game for some zany fun here.
Just...no mind control, Claremont, PLLEEEEAAAASSEEEE. He does that more often than Ultimate Spider-Man gets unmasked.
PATSY WALKER: HELLCAT #3: Speaking of zany superhero books, we have the cult mini HELLCAT from Immonen (the wife, not the dude) and Lafuente. It seems every superhero book that isn't gritty or knee deep in Skrulls is goofy this week. I guess being Skrull-free is worth being happy about.
The first issue sold at 19.5k; below the Top 100. That is quite dire, although considering it is a "sequal" to a low selling MARVEL COMICS PRESENTS run from last year, I am unsure what could have been expected. This thing might be selling below ARCHIE and all 100 of his new title logo's by issue #5. But I understand; it is an acquired taste, and frankly even I am not sure why I kind of like it.
Hellcat continues her oddball magical quest through the Alaskan world, teaming up with hulking supernatural beasts, talking totems, and even venturing into the underworld. The recap page is still one of the more unque ones you see in comics and Hellcat's chipper one-liners border on the funny, to bizarre, to almost random. Some could claim that she is horribly out of character here, considering all the dark stuff that has happened to her. But this version from Mrs. Immonen is more interesting; I'd rather read this than some emo-fest about how Hellcat's formerly been insane and married to the son of Satan. If I have to choose between quirky and generic, I pick the former.
Lafente's light-hearted art is great and matches the tone very well. Hellcat has a bit of a simple design but he makes her pop, whether it is spanking critters or being silly.
How about this for a one-shot; Hellcat and Squirrel-Girl at the mall, and Hydra attacks. Hilarity ensues.
I can't recommend this to everyone, and in the grand scheme of things is probably skippable. But as a lark, like a swig of Crazy Stix sugar, it can be enjoyed.
Skrull-Stuff comin' tomorrow...
fifthfiend
M4J3ST1C L3G1SL4C3R4TOR
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She's a Manic Pixie Dream Girl without the boring-ass boyfriend dragging her down. Like if Harley Quinn ditched the Joker for good, and had unspecified magicness, and wasn't a remorseless serial killer.
Also I think it helps that the actual character doesn't seem to know what in the hell is going on any more than I do.
Dark Victory
A$AP WAYNE
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Deadpool #1
Let me just get it out of the way now and say that Deadpool #1 is pretty much exactly what I expected it was going to be. Skrulls attack a baseball game, realize there is some anomaly located in the stadium, and find themselves facing off against a well armed, armored mascot. As you have probably guessed, the mascot suit is being donned by none other than the ever-sarcastic Wade Wilson. While nothing particularly special, the Deadpool factor is what makes this book worth a look. His personality, mental instability, and taste for the wacky keeps things light and fun; something missing from a lot of Marvel books these days. While I would have preferred for this series to have debuted outside of the Secret Invasion stuff, the ending in this issue (only possible in a Deadpool series) gives me hope that the best is being made of a frustrating editorial situation. As a side note, I must mention that little is done to introduce Deadpool as a character. His personality takes front and center, but those unfamiliar with his history or completely new to the character might want to do a little research first.
On the technical end, let me just say that the creative team knocks this one out of the park (pun intended). Writer Daniel Way absolutely nails the goofy, off-the-wall tone necessary to keep the Invasion aspects from feeling stale. He perfectly hits a comfortable sweet-spot somewhere between cheesy/silly and genuinely funny. As for the artwork, the bright, vibrant and surprisingly violent visuals couldnt be more fitting.
I strongly urge all Marvel fans to at least give Deadpool #1 a look. The book does a nice job reintroducing a fan-favorite to the masses, and the its refreshing and unique despite the fairly predictable Secret Invasion framework. While I do have my complaints, there is something to be said about a book that is just flat-out entertaining and this one is. (Grade: B)
Let me just get it out of the way now and say that Deadpool #1 is pretty much exactly what I expected it was going to be. Skrulls attack a baseball game, realize there is some anomaly located in the stadium, and find themselves facing off against a well armed, armored mascot. As you have probably guessed, the mascot suit is being donned by none other than the ever-sarcastic Wade Wilson. While nothing particularly special, the Deadpool factor is what makes this book worth a look. His personality, mental instability, and taste for the wacky keeps things light and fun; something missing from a lot of Marvel books these days. While I would have preferred for this series to have debuted outside of the Secret Invasion stuff, the ending in this issue (only possible in a Deadpool series) gives me hope that the best is being made of a frustrating editorial situation. As a side note, I must mention that little is done to introduce Deadpool as a character. His personality takes front and center, but those unfamiliar with his history or completely new to the character might want to do a little research first.
On the technical end, let me just say that the creative team knocks this one out of the park (pun intended). Writer Daniel Way absolutely nails the goofy, off-the-wall tone necessary to keep the Invasion aspects from feeling stale. He perfectly hits a comfortable sweet-spot somewhere between cheesy/silly and genuinely funny. As for the artwork, the bright, vibrant and surprisingly violent visuals couldnt be more fitting.
I strongly urge all Marvel fans to at least give Deadpool #1 a look. The book does a nice job reintroducing a fan-favorite to the masses, and the its refreshing and unique despite the fairly predictable Secret Invasion framework. While I do have my complaints, there is something to be said about a book that is just flat-out entertaining and this one is. (Grade: B)
RockSP
MYTH SMITH ∞!!!
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Did anyone else read Young Liars #7? Does anyone read Young Liars at all? I've been really, really enjoying this book so far, but I think my enjoyment just tripled with the arrival of #7. Holy crap. I knew there was going to be a weird backstory for Sadie, but I had no idea it would this kind of weird.
Damn, my shop must have missed a couple issues
. Last one I got was [BLACKOUT]the one where Danny got his schlong chopped off.[/BLACKOUT] That was #5, I think...?
Dread
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Those are both true.
It sounds weird, but Hellcat is the sort of heroine I have wanted to TRY to like for a while. She was a "girl's dating heroine" not unlike Betty & Veronica in the 50's before she returned as a costumed superheroine in the 70's DEFENDERS series, so she is one of Marvel's rare Golden Agers who has maintained some sort of presence since before the 1961 "launch" of the modern Marvel Universe (much like Namor and Captain America, although in another degree). Yet her history has had a lot of bogged down moments.
Take, say, her guest appearance in LAST DEFENDERS. Hellcat is more like herself, acknowledging her past with Hellstrom. She came off a bit more generic.
Ms. Immonen's HELLCAT, at the very least, isn't generic. She's fun. The adventures have been wacked out, like Sam Keith on an acid trip, but the character is fun. Immonen's take reminds me of Squirrel-Girl, which isn't a bad thing.
Of course, considering Hellcat has been insane at some points in her life, one could claim that this take acknowledges that with her "kookiness", just instead of her being "Tim Burton" loopy, she's, as you said, a more amusing Harley Quinn loopy.
The Astounding Wolf-Man hasn't had a delay. It's been a bi-monthly book, as of this last issue.
Damn, my shop must have missed a couple issues
Yeah, that's #5. Danny spends most of #6 trying not to bleed out, and in #7 we get the spiders from Mars. Like, for real.
iloveclones
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Oh, yeah. Like a lot of Constant Readers (although I haven't been so constant the last 10 years), The Stand is my favorite of all King's stuff. I read the original, and then the Un-abridged version when they came out, and read it again 4 or 5 years ago while on vacation. The art looks great, and even though I know the whole story, I'm very excited to see how this new version will look. I'll also be curious to see the sales. Dark Tower did very well, but I wonder if King fans in general will buy this. DT fans seem more fanatical.
And it gives me another opportunity to say that Marvel should have a Stephen King Presents title. Maybe an anthology. Maybe something that novelists can work in the comic medium. But they obviously have a good thing going.
CaptainCanada
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Part II: Secret Invasion-palooza!
Secret Invasion #6
Structurally, this story is feeling a bit unsound; after spending four issues at a fairly slow clip (particularly #2), the story is now hurling along, hurriedly gathering all the principles in one place for the big fight (even going so far as to have Thor beam them in, since everyone hadn't gotten their naturally; this has a certain mythic feel to it, to be sure). New Cap and Thor are brought in here and barely glanced at, especially the latter, whose appearance gets absolutely no reaction from anyone other than Thor; actually, in some ways I think Thor's appearance, with everyone wondering if it's really him, is in some ways more incongruous, but that's not Bendis' fault, since he's been back for a year and JMS has stubbornly avoided having him interact with any of his friends; it just highlights how silly it is that most of these guys didn't high-tail it down to Oklahoma when they got word. Things aren't looking good for Jan, though, who was apparently converted into a secret weapon by the Skrulls. The main book of this event has been decent, but outshone by almost every major tie-in, even most of Bendis' own (the sporadic nature of his mean that it's a lot more uneven). Yu's art is great.
Secret Invasion: Inhumans #2
Two issues in to the "crossover-tie-in that's a prelude to another crossover", and, based on the current results, I'm prepared to project that it will end up in one of the upper tiers of the tie-ins, perhaps below "The Guns of Avalon" and "Sacred Invasion" in quality. Newbie writer Joe Pokaski (Heroes, a show I've tried and failed to get into) has done a great job with his first comics project (that I'm aware of); as with most Inhumans stories, it's focussed on the royal family, a fairly strong group of characters when done well, but it's distinct because, for the only time that I can think of, Black Bolt isn't the focus. Bolt is one of the most powerful characters in the MU, so much so that writers generally have to come up with explanations for why he doesn't act (like Jenkins' excellent late-90s miniseries); here, he's essentially been removed from the table, so it's up to the others (mainly Medusa) to step up, and it works extremely well. One other aspect of this event is that the Skrulls, for the most part, don't have that many name characters, so tie-ins, if they want a compelling main Skrull villain, have to invent one whole-cloth (Herc and Black Panther, for example) or just use a horde of nameless Skrulls (Captain Britain, proving that it doesn't impact story quality); even the main miniseries' villain, Veranke, continues to adopt the guise of Spider-Woman for visual distinction; Pokaski gives us a hunchbacked mad scientist-type Skrull, who is quite dislikeable; I can't wait for Black Bolt to get his revenge. Tom Raney's art is fantastic.
Secret Invasion: Runaways & Young Avengers #3
This will go down as one of the more frivolous tie-ins, though there's nothing really wrong with it; it's just not that special. The writer had a rather notable handicap from the start, in that he's only got about half the Young Avengers on hand (and none of my favourites), so the story is heavily stacked towards the Runaways, acting as a bit of leadup to the series relaunch (it's even the first story to really try to integrate Klara into the 21st century, and Yost makes pretty good use of her). They do discuss the idea of Hulkling as the rightful emperor a bit, a role he still has no interest in (though he uses it to fake out a Super-Skrull). Miyazawa's manga-esque art style also seems a bit poorly-suited for this type of story; it works great for the Runaways (no surprise that he's actually drawn some issues of Vaughn's run), but much less so for the Young Avengers, or for the general idea of Secret Invasion.
Secret Invasion #6
Structurally, this story is feeling a bit unsound; after spending four issues at a fairly slow clip (particularly #2), the story is now hurling along, hurriedly gathering all the principles in one place for the big fight (even going so far as to have Thor beam them in, since everyone hadn't gotten their naturally; this has a certain mythic feel to it, to be sure). New Cap and Thor are brought in here and barely glanced at, especially the latter, whose appearance gets absolutely no reaction from anyone other than Thor; actually, in some ways I think Thor's appearance, with everyone wondering if it's really him, is in some ways more incongruous, but that's not Bendis' fault, since he's been back for a year and JMS has stubbornly avoided having him interact with any of his friends; it just highlights how silly it is that most of these guys didn't high-tail it down to Oklahoma when they got word. Things aren't looking good for Jan, though, who was apparently converted into a secret weapon by the Skrulls. The main book of this event has been decent, but outshone by almost every major tie-in, even most of Bendis' own (the sporadic nature of his mean that it's a lot more uneven). Yu's art is great.
Secret Invasion: Inhumans #2
Two issues in to the "crossover-tie-in that's a prelude to another crossover", and, based on the current results, I'm prepared to project that it will end up in one of the upper tiers of the tie-ins, perhaps below "The Guns of Avalon" and "Sacred Invasion" in quality. Newbie writer Joe Pokaski (Heroes, a show I've tried and failed to get into) has done a great job with his first comics project (that I'm aware of); as with most Inhumans stories, it's focussed on the royal family, a fairly strong group of characters when done well, but it's distinct because, for the only time that I can think of, Black Bolt isn't the focus. Bolt is one of the most powerful characters in the MU, so much so that writers generally have to come up with explanations for why he doesn't act (like Jenkins' excellent late-90s miniseries); here, he's essentially been removed from the table, so it's up to the others (mainly Medusa) to step up, and it works extremely well. One other aspect of this event is that the Skrulls, for the most part, don't have that many name characters, so tie-ins, if they want a compelling main Skrull villain, have to invent one whole-cloth (Herc and Black Panther, for example) or just use a horde of nameless Skrulls (Captain Britain, proving that it doesn't impact story quality); even the main miniseries' villain, Veranke, continues to adopt the guise of Spider-Woman for visual distinction; Pokaski gives us a hunchbacked mad scientist-type Skrull, who is quite dislikeable; I can't wait for Black Bolt to get his revenge. Tom Raney's art is fantastic.
Secret Invasion: Runaways & Young Avengers #3
This will go down as one of the more frivolous tie-ins, though there's nothing really wrong with it; it's just not that special. The writer had a rather notable handicap from the start, in that he's only got about half the Young Avengers on hand (and none of my favourites), so the story is heavily stacked towards the Runaways, acting as a bit of leadup to the series relaunch (it's even the first story to really try to integrate Klara into the 21st century, and Yost makes pretty good use of her). They do discuss the idea of Hulkling as the rightful emperor a bit, a role he still has no interest in (though he uses it to fake out a Super-Skrull). Miyazawa's manga-esque art style also seems a bit poorly-suited for this type of story; it works great for the Runaways (no surprise that he's actually drawn some issues of Vaughn's run), but much less so for the Young Avengers, or for the general idea of Secret Invasion.
Tron Bonne
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Oh, me too.
You're definitely in for a shock with this month's issue.
Yeah, that definitely was not a direction I saw coming. I liked the issue and all, but I'm not entirely sure how to take where this veers the direction of the book. Just seems so...well, I don't know, like it really doesn't fit with the rest of the book. I'm looking forward to seeing how it all works out in the end.
I'm wondering if it's all in Sadie's twisted mind, or if this is going to turn out as her actual origin. She's been raped by family members, among other terrible things, so it wouldn't be out of the realm of the possibility to make up this insane version of reality as a mechanism to cope.
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