Runawayboulder's Very First Cherry Popping Bought/Thought for 05/25/11 (spoilers)

[Dread]

Nomad's dead?! Lame! THIS is why they don't have ANY teenaged characters. Of course, there's a chance that she'd be resurrected somewhere in McKeever's intended run, but we may never get to see that.

He kept her fate a little ambiguous. She's either dead and Steve Rogers had a nightmare, or Onslaught merely fooled everyone into thinking so in order to merge with her better and regroup another time. If Onslaught returns, unless McKeever writes it again, it could be a forgotten plot point.

To be fair, Marvel does have a slew of teenage characters. The cast in AVENGERS ACADEMY, what's left of Academy X in UNCANNY X-MEN, the new kids in GENERATION HOPE, McKeever himself has a slew of Initiative creations in YOUTH IN REVOLT, there's Amadeus Cho and the new Thunderstrike, and Arana/Spider-Girl, and the new Power Man, Victor Alvarez. And the YOUNG AVENGERS. You just have to know where to look. I likely even forgot a few.

Ironically, while Rikki Barnes seemed like a "new" character, let's recall she is from HEROES REBORN, which is already bordering on 15 years ago. It was a bit irritating to lose her, but, it isn't like YOUNG ALLIES as a franchise has a future. Still, it was a bit of a shame to lose her. McKeever had done the best work with Rikki that anyone had done in years, but...no need to take your ball and go home just because your team book got canned, dude.

The dilemma of these teenage characters isn't not existing, but having nowhere to go. In theory, teenage heroes are the next generation who have to go through a lengthy training and mettle-testing phase. The problem is after that's settled, then what? They can never replace the big guns, because the big guns never die, never retire, never go away for long. So, you have the characters hit limbo or a glass ceiling and get stuck there until some are used to pad out team rosters, fade into obscurity or are sacrificed for a body count. Happened to the NEW MUTANTS in the 80's, happened to the NEW WARRIORS, and it goes on. Naturally, Marvel would be considered suicidal if they swapped all their old stars for new, untested ones, so it isn't an easy dilemma to solve.

To a degree, Sean McKeever's GRAVITY is going through this. When he was originally launched in his own mini, his gimmick was being a novice hero in a city crammed with them in which a newbie could have a very good start and go unnoticed because it's NYC, the epicenter of superheroes. He eked out a win over Rhino and some other villains. But since? He's gone to space, died, been revived, saved Epoch from Galactus, saved Eternity from dying alongside the FF and Dr. Strange, and served in the Initiative, leading a team and defending the nation from Skrulls. You can't play him as a novice anymore. So, McKeever is going the opposite track, playing with the idea that he's seen and done too much, too soon, and is jaded or unstable.

 

[Phaedrus45]

Just got back from Kung Fu Panda 3D. As a general rule, I've been skipping 3D versions, unless it's animated. I thought the 3D in Thor was a waste of money; and, I'm glad I didn't pay the extra price for Pirates.

BTW, pretty good kids movie. Worth economy price...and, heck, 2D would have been just as good.

Spider-Man #14

I've gotta admit, I'm kind of disappointed with Tobin's Marvel Adventure comics. They were so much better before the relaunch. He created some real interesting characters to interact with Peter/Spidey; but, now, he just seems to be phoning it in. Nothing significant happens any longer; and, old story lines (like with the Torinos) are quickly wrapped up. This Mysterio adventure might be nice for the very young readers; but, there is nothing here that makes you want to come back next month. (For that matter, Peter's relationship with Chat has become severely boring.)

Green Lantern #66, Green Lantern Corps #60, and Green Lantern: Emerald Warriors #10

Mama...the well has run dry!

DC is just phoning in these stories nowadays. I'm guessing in the near future, we'll be seeing "War Of The Amazons," or some other silly nonsense...all dressed up to be some great event. This is just DC doing to Green Lantern to what they did with Superman....and, Flashpoint is just a gussied up Tangent universe.

That said, I have to give this some kudos for doing one thing: Killing Mogo! As I've mentioned before, I HATE sentinent planets; and, any time a storyline centered around Mogo, I just shook my head. Who knows if Johns felt the same way; but, I rejoice in its death.

Plain and simple, this story would have been better served as not being packaged as a huge Green Lantern event, like Sinestro Wars. It does not compare to previous storylines; and, let's face it....DC really wants the focus to be on Flashpoint more than this one. Why else shove all three issues at readers in one week? It just screamed, "We want people picking up all of our Flashpoint tie-ins that start next week." All that is left is the conclusion.

It's not a bad storyline. It's just it's lack of originality mixed with the greatness of past events that makes me feel rather lackluster to it. I still give it an adequate . Green Lantern Corps, though, gets , simply for killing off Mogo.

Walking Dead #85

The best deal of the week!

Not only do readers get an epilogue of sorts to the last storyline in Walking Dead; but, we get a full issue #0 preview of Witch Doctor...coming soon from Image. I liked both; but, probably enjoyed Witch Doctor more. It's definitely on my pull list. (Although, I seriously wondered why they blacked out a certain curse word, when swearing often shows up...like it did this week...within the pages of Walking Dead.) To be honest, I get a bit tired of all the character talk sometimes within Walking Dead. I want more Zombie action. Thankfully, my next book gave me enough of that.

'68 #1 & 2

Now, THIS is what I was looking for. Lots of action, all set during the Vietnam War. I guess there was a one-shot in 2006 for this series (and, from the letter's page, more will be coming); but, it's not at all essential for your enjoyment of this book. It's like The 'Nam meets Walking Dead...but, as mentioned, TONS of zombie action. Good, good stuff. It might end up being my favorite zombie series yet.

Green Arrow #12

This has to be one of the crappiest Green Lantern series EVAH! Now, we get what's basically a recap of the events in the final issue of Brightest Day. Even at $2.99, it's a huge waste of money. What's even worse is that DC brags on the front, "Secret Of The Forest Revealed!!!" Ummm...that was revealed quite a few weeks back.

While I gave Onslaught Unleashed my worst grade, I have to go above and beyond for this issue...and the entire series. For the first time ever, . (Oh, and in the end, Ollie leaves the forest for the jungles of the city.) I need to remind my comic shop to drop this title. I stuck around far too long, just to see if the conclusion would make it all worth it. Nope, it just made the whole experience that much worse.

Action Comics #901

I'm not sure if anyone else has reviewed this issue yet; but, do you miss Lex Luthor already, like I do? BOY, did this issue just stink; and, it's not over. Reign Of The Doomsdays has to continue for a while; and, what does Cornell do? He introduces yet ANOTHER Doomsday: Doomslayer.

How can Cornell do such a great job with the Lex Luthor storyline, and totally kill all he accomplished before in one issue??!!?? From the dual artists to the awful dialogue (Superman should NOT be saying things, like "Busted!") Things are not looking good for the Superman books. It's because of crap like this that Lemire's Superboy is the better book of the rest of the Superman titles. (And, even Supergirl is hands-down better than Superman's solo title.)

 

[Phaedrus45]

Green Lantern #66 - War of the Green Lanterns Part 7. This story has been alright but I'm eager for it to end. I also don't like the "feast or famine" method of 2 or (in this week's case) 3 issues of it coming out in the same week, and then waiting a month for the next part/s.

Anyway, in this issue we have Hal and Guy in their Yellow and Red rings on a quest to draw Parallax out of the Green Battery Ring, though standing in their way are the surviving Guardians possessed by the Entities. Needless to say, they lose. Krona strings them up and we learn he wants to make them the new Guardians of the Universe beside him.

It was okay, but the only real interesting part of the issue was with Sinestro journeying through the Book of the Black trying to get out while everyone else's minds are trapped in their past. He comes accross the Indigo tribe, the biggest mystery of all the Lanterns, and we see them in a prison of some sort, and apparently trapped by Abin Sur himself, and they aren't very compassionate as it turns out. This has me curious, but other than that... the rest of the issue was just alright.


Green Lantern Corps 60 - War of the Green Lanterns Part 8. This issue, I feel, is the best since this crossover began due to the ending. This whole event has felt boring and pointless and I've wanted it over before it began. All of a sudden something happens, and the build up to it, that draws me in and had me on the edge of my set (or bed in this case).

Kyle and John's quest is to free Mogo so that more Lanterns will stop being made to be controled by Krona. They have a hard time since other Lanterns are there trying to stop them and they eventually reach his core and even his original ring. They attempt to free him using hope and compassion to no avail and discover that Mogo's never purged the black energy absorbed during Blackest Night. Using the Indigo ring John connects to Mogo and discovers how much control Krona has and that Mogo is too far gone (in his opinion) and that if Mogo is not stopped then there will be more and more Green Lanterns causing death and destruction in Krona's name. Seeing that there is nothing else they can do, and against Kyle's protests, John uses the Indigo ring to absorb the power of the Black energies at Mogo's core, and snipes Mogo's core, blowing him to smitherines and killing him.

HOLY CRAP!!!! I knew a Lantern was supposed to die but I assumed it was going to be John... but Mogo?! Really! That surprised the heck out of me! Sucks, but man that's rough.

So yeah, this was a good issue. It pulled me in unlike any of the previous 7 parts, so good job Bedard


Green Lantern: Emerald Warriors #10 - War of the Green Lanterns Part 9. The penultimate chapter of the crossover as the repercussions of Mogo's death are felt. Every possessed Green Lantern, Krona, and the possess Guardians real in pain in the destruction of the living planet leaving the Earth Lanterns free to try to continue their plan of ridding the Battery of Parrallax. Prior to this John and Kyle have words over John's deeds, which Kyle is extremely ticked off about and John is remourseful, and they teleport to join Guy and Hal. The four, along with Ganthet, work to break Parallax out of the Batter and ultimately it's Guy that achieves this with the combined rings of Rage and Love (Loving the Green Lantern Corps and Hating the Red Ring) and Parallax is finally broken out of the Battery, freeing the minds of every Green Lantern that was previously possessed. Each of the Earth Lanterns are shed of their colored rings and become Green again as Krona and the Entity possessed Guardians arrive leading to the final... the Green Lantern Corps vs. Krona and the Guardians.

This was a good issue though not as good as GLC. I enjoyed the aftermath of Mogo's death, particularly John and Kyle's argument about it, and it's good to finally see the Corps free. Next issue will hopefully be good. I'm hoping so anyway because I'm close to dropping all three of these titles.

And what the heck happened to Ion and that snake guy? I thought they were supposed to tie into this event somehow? And only because I'm too lazy to check... where the heck did Bleez go?

I agree with you, and glad that you like Green Lantern Corps the most, also. Here was one of the major problems with this whole G.L. event: Where were all the other Lanterns? I am so tired of the Earthlings being the heroes and protectors, and all the other great Lanterns falling by the wayside. What made those first 30 or so Green Lantern Corps issues so great? The ability to make you like the Corps, beyond just Hal or Guy Gardner. Taking the focus away from the Corps has made me sorely miss how great this title used to be, before Johns and company had to try and make the Lantern universe bigger than it needs to be.

 

[Dread]

Some additional data about ASTONISHING SPIDER-MAN & WOLVERINE #6: which only X-Men fans may care about. While it is a throwaway mini series in a lot of ways that may not "count" for much besides being a bizarre Mojo story, there are two interesting angles played up within it, since Jason Aaron is also writing stuff like WOLVERINE and I believe X-MEN SCHISM.

- Wolverine's brother Dog was zapped into the present day in the epilogue, so expect him to show up somewhere.

- The "generic love interest" Mojo zapped into the adventure, Sara Bailey, has an interesting name. That is actually the married name of Jean Grey's sister, Sara Grey. She went missing in X-FACTOR #12, circa 1987. At the time, Sara had become a mutant rights spokesperson and was speaking out against the fire-bombing of a mutant's home. Jean feared this would make her sister a target, and found that her apartment had been emptied; she and Cyclops barely escaped a firebomb planted within it. The subplot was promptly forgotten. Sara was listed as dead back during the PHALANX COVENANT story in 1994. At conventions, Chris Claremont claimed he'd intended for Sara to be revealed as Nanny, who went around kidnapping mutants with Orphan-Maker, but it was one of many things he didn't get around to (which makes sense since Sara's children later wound up as part of Nanny's army initially). Marvel Handbooks and Marvel.com's Bio naturally list Sara Bailey-Grey as "deceased". So is this the same Sara Bailey, somehow amnesic and working as a bank teller, then mixed up in an adventure with Mojo, Spider-Man, and Wolverine? Or just an amazing coincidence of name to pluck out of the air for a semi-X-Men adventure (since it involved Wolverine and Mojo, two X-Men figures)? Wolverine didn't seem to notice Sara much; he sometimes has been able to detect siblings of people by scent, depending on how omnipotent his tracking power is that month. On the other hand, Wolverine is the sort who may stumble upon something important and not bother telling anyone for months (such as when Jean Grey first returned after the end of Dark Phoenix, or that the Agents Of Atlas were heroes), just because nobody asks or he's been a dick.

 

[roach]

The dilemma of these teenage characters isn't not existing, but having nowhere to go. In theory, teenage heroes are the next generation who have to go through a lengthy training and mettle-testing phase. The problem is after that's settled, then what? They can never replace the big guns, because the big guns never die, never retire, never go away for long. So, you have the characters hit limbo or a glass ceiling and get stuck there until some are used to pad out team rosters, fade into obscurity or are sacrificed for a body count. Happened to the NEW MUTANTS in the 80's, happened to the NEW WARRIORS, and it goes on. Naturally, Marvel would be considered suicidal if they swapped all their old stars for new, untested ones, so it isn't an easy dilemma to solve.

I was watching Star Trek Generations last night due to SyFy doing a Star Trek movie marathon and as I was watching Kirk deal with the complexities of being a retired hero I realized that I'd never see this storyline at Marvel. Peter Parker will always be Spider-man. My grandchildren's grandchildren will read about Peter Parker/Spider-man...and he'll have the same issues that teenagers will have in that far off future.
I am not clamoring for the death of our heroes but I'd like to see a hero deal with retirement. Deal with the fact that there is someone else in their hero codename out their saving lives. How does someone go from saving the world on a semi weekly basis to now sitting back and watching someone else do it. I used to be in the military and I miss it sometimes. Would a member of the Avengers feel the same way?

 

[Phaedrus45]

Ducktales #1

Another new Disney comic from Kaboom, and it's very cute. I probably won't continue with it; but, thought kids would like what I read. (It's not a one-off story, though. With kid's comics, I really do prefer a single issue with a beginning and end.)

Star Wars: Darth Vader and the Lost Command #5

The end to this mini was alright; and, I liked the way Blackman tied his story into Anaquin's love to Padme. (Not sure if I spelled those names correctly.) Still, none of these issues really grabbed me, and I only bought them all to complete the series.

Daken: Dark Wolverine #9.1

Sheesh. This was one of the worst of the .1 issues...though, not nearly as bad as Invincible Iron Man. I thought Daken had already decided to distance himself from his father when this series began; but, this issue shows that he hasn't. He gains control of Madripoor, only to start anew. (So, what was the purpose of the first nine issues, anyway??) We didn't need another confontation between him and Logan; and, it made his decision to stop trying to be like his father seem even more ridiculous. (If you really wanted to distance yourself from him, why go and tell him so? It just makes it seem like you aren't.)

Spider-Girl #7

I finally caught up on this series, reading issues #3-7. Gotta say I'm continuing my disappointment with Tobin this week. While the early issues were just wonderful, this latest one did very little for me. I don't think that's so much Paul's fault, as he's trying to wrap up this cancelled book. Sadly, this issue and the confrontation with the Ravens feels rushed. Before, he was taking his time, making Anya a more complex, interesting character. This feels like standard superhero action, though.

Incredible Hulks #629

Meh. Still more disappointment. Frankly, I'm bored with the Bruce/Hulk and Betty/Red She-Hulk romance. It's been dragged out, and I guess we're left thinking it's over...again. They need to do a complete overhaul of this book. Get rid of the multi-colored Hulks, do away with Amadeus Cho, and try something new and original. I don't mind if they keep Rulk and Skaar; but, the rest need to be done away with quickly. (Oh, and the way Bruce and Betty can just keep reverting back and forth between personas is ridiculous. It takes away the whole idea of who the Hulk is. Sure, it worked with Hulk back in the Peter David days; but, this version just lacks any of the previous' personality.

Captain America #618

I've been enjoying this book since Bucky went to Russian jail. The various storylines work well within this book, and I love how different artists are telling the different scenes. (Especially, Samnee's art. He's one of my favorite artists at Marvel right now.) Sure, seeing a superhero in jail has been done to death; but, Brubaker still makes it a good read.

Mighty Thor #2

While not as bad as his previous storyline, I'm still not a fan of Fraction's Thor. Maybe the biggest disappointment is that while the rest of the Marvel U. has moved on to Fear Itself, this goes back to before Odin moved Asgard back into it's previous realm. (Plus, I'm just not feeling this Galactus storyline. Bleck!)

 

[Phaedrus45]

I still have some comics to read for this week; but, looking at what I've read so far, I'm going to say that the Worst Of The Week is (hands down) Green Arrow #12. Nothing blew me away to deserve a t:; but, I'll give the Best Of The Week honors to....ummm....Uncanny X-Men. (That hasn't happened for YEARS!)

 

[Phaedrus45]

Best and Worst of the Week:

Best: Green Lantern Corps 60 - As the only issue that actually had me on the edge of my seat with an ending that surprised me... this issue deserves the best of the week title. I'm not particularly fond of Mogo's death but Bedard handled it very well and Kirkham did great on pencils. This War of the Green Lanterns plot has been mediocre at best but this issue has shined in my opinion.

Worst: Green Lantern 66 - How about that... one GL title is best, another is worst. This wasn't particularly bad but it wasn't overwhelmingly good either, and in the midsts of a fairly fantastic week of comics it stood out as the least of the good. But then again, I'll take this as worst of the week any day if it means that every book is at least this good.

I was ALMOST tempted to make GLC #60 my Book Of The Week; but, I'd do it more because of my hatred for Mogo than my love for this storyline.

 

[Dread]

I was watching Star Trek Generations last night due to SyFy doing a Star Trek movie marathon and as I was watching Kirk deal with the complexities of being a retired hero I realized that I'd never see this storyline at Marvel. Peter Parker will always be Spider-man. My grandchildren's grandchildren will read about Peter Parker/Spider-man...and he'll have the same issues that teenagers will have in that far off future.
I am not clamoring for the death of our heroes but I'd like to see a hero deal with retirement. Deal with the fact that there is someone else in their hero codename out their saving lives. How does someone go from saving the world on a semi weekly basis to now sitting back and watching someone else do it. I used to be in the military and I miss it sometimes. Would a member of the Avengers feel the same way?

To a degree Steve Rogers recently went through this with Bucky taking over as Captain America while he settled into a more "super agent" role. Of course, while younger, Bucky is still someone from the 1940's who has been able to live in the modern day via sci-fi stuff and is himself older than many people, so...perhaps not really. Plus, Rogers is about to be Cap again.

Just thinking about this, I was amazed at how many of Marvel's Golden Age superheroes are technically still around. I don't just mean the members of THE TWELVE, which will likely never be finished; even if the robot Elektro is obvious. But I mean other heroes like the Challenger, or a great deal of the original Invaders (Namor, Vision, Spitfire, Toro, Human Torch/Jim Hammond, and Thin Man). Namora is naturally part of the Agents of Atlas. Still, some of them did get crusty and retire, like the Angel or Captain Terror. Phantom Blond retired and helped out She-Hulk as part of her support staff during her own series in the 80's and 90's, and her own daughter wanted to follow in her footsteps as the Blond Phantom - the only problem being that she was an unskilled ditz. Miss America and the Whizzer were involved in the Maximoff Twin subplot in AVENGERS during the 60's and 70's; back when they were believed to be their parents. Whizzer basically died believing so.

The major subplot of THE SLINGERS was about retired hero Black Marvel wanting to make up for a great failing during the height of his career, and turning to a deal with Mephisto to allow him to empower a new generation to make up for it (using discarded identities Spider-Man briefly used). Ultimately, the kids had to basically redeem the oldster's soul for him. The Slingers was launched during the red ink era of Marvel, at the end of the Bob Harras era in 1999-2000, and was canned in a year. Despite the name, and despite his appearance in "SPIDER-MAN THE ANIMATED SERIES" in the 90's, the 616 Black Marvel was not actually black. The Blue Marvel from a few years ago, however, is.

To call a spade a spade, there a great deal of DC heroes from the Golden Age who are still around and never retire - the JSA makes that a central premise. DC likes legacy heroes a lot more, and their adult heroes are usually more involved with the lives of their younger generations, while Marvel heroes usually don't give a damn about them until they mess up or they need dependable canon fodder. But, yeah, Batman's never going to retire, or Superman, or Wonder Woman, or even the original Atom for heaven's sakes.

In Paul Tobin's SPIDER-GIRL, Spider-Man has often been a worrywart whenever he has hung around Spider-Girl, not only due to her being a teenager, but lacking super-powers. While appreciating the help, Anya often has to keep telling Spidey she can handle herself, to a degree.

The difficulty with doing a story like you suggest is the "Neverland" aspect of Marvel, or what they call the sliding time scale so characters never age and time never passes. Marvel thus insists their world remains the same as ours, although if so, this means in "Marvel Land", the USSR and disco lasted WAY longer than in the real world. Yes, disco; to everyone in the real world, disco was dead by 1979. Yet in 1980, Marvel introduced Dazzler as a disco star. They were sheltered, out of touch old men back then, too. To have certain characters retire would be to admit time passes. Of course, Marvel does so in rare occasions. In 2006, Ben Grimm celebrated a second Bar Mitzah because he'd been the Thing for 13 years, and we were told that Steve Rogers was believed dead in Marvel time for a year (in real life it was about 2-3 years).

It would be interesting, but as I have stated, it is amazing how rarely that comes up in Marvel, even with their heroes from the 1940's who should have long since retired.

Some writers try to have their cake and eat it too with glimpses at alternate futures that depict young heroes in certain roles - like in AVENGERS: THE CHILDREN'S CRUSADE: YOUNG AVENGERS #1 where we see Eli Bradly as the new Captain America or Teddy Altman as the new Captain Marvel. You will never see either in the mainstream universe, and this is considering Mar-Vell has been dead for ages.

It is a tricky puzzle to solve, as Marvel and DC still rely almost exclusively on franchises created either during the WWII era, the 1960's or 70's with very few exceptions. To scrap any of them for someone new would be a near suicidal risk. Hence if you ever see stories like you suggest, they tend to only occur in "fantasy" stories outside of continuity. Comics are never-ending serials, and you can't replace the stars of them. Ironically, the indie and manga comics that have attracted more people under 18 than any of the big two tend to be finite stories that can change drastically over the years, like NARUTO or WALKING DEAD. And seeking to imitate soap operas may not be the best strategy now that many of those are gone, too. YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS, BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL, and GENERAL HOSPITAL are very close to being the last of the dinosaurs. Latino "telenovellas" manage to make that format work by having their soaps be limited series, with finite ends.

I mean...not even Jarvis the Butler will ever retire. Not even Aunt May can die of old age. The only difference between the big two and ARCHIE is that ARCHIE is upfront and honest about their status quo never changing, ever. And the solution isn't as easy as, "well, kick out the old men and throw in the kids". No. That would be marketing suicide, and piss off a lot of people. It is a delicate problem for the big two. If it can be solved, though, it will have to be by people whose best solution isn't a strategy that last worked in 1987, or 1967.

 

[roach]

I remember when Next Generation came out and the fanbois crapped their pants because there was no Kirk or Spock. Seven seasons later and its one of the better Star Trek series. All it takes is for a publisher to make a change and stick with it. Like why Kyle became Green Lantern..sure people flipped their lids but after a few years they came around and he had a big following...and they flipped when the decision was made to bring back Hal and the rest of the Corps.
If Marvel never planned to return Steve to the stars and stripes they had a successful transition to a younger hero(though not that much younger).
Whats the point of having a young teenage team if there are no plans to have them replace the main heroes?
However you are right. The companies arent about to let Cannonball and Moonstar replace Cyclops and Storm as the X-men and mutant-kind leadership. Bruce forming planet-wide army of Batmen is a step in the right direction for Batman but how long will it be until Bruce is the only one?

 

[JewishHobbit]

X-Men Legacy #249

I have NO idea who Frenzy is; but, I'm dying to read more about her.

Frenzy, also known as Cargill (I believe it's spelled) was an old foe of the original X-Factor alongside Tower and was working as a stooge of Apocalypse around the first few issues. She later showed up alongside Fabian Cortez as one of the Acolytes (Uncanny X-Men 298-300) and stayed with them all the way until Eve of Destruction prior to Morrison's New X-Men run. In that book she was controled by Jean Grey to join her little group of newbie X-Men with Wraith, Paulie Provenzano, Sunpyre (Sunfire's sister), and Northstar to battle Magneto in his home of Genosha. Hmm... after that I think she just kinda floated around in minor appearances here and there though I don't recall where until she ended up on Utopia. I think her mutant power is just super strength but she's got big attitude.

I hope that helps jog some memory on her.

X-Men: Earth's Mutant Heroes One-Shot

Your usual handbook...except, now Marvel is charging us $4.99 for them. Good stuff in here, especially when I think of JH's old Contest Of Marvels. He would have loved the Halloween Jack entry back in the day!

Heh, I was reading some X-Men 2099 comics just last week and was thinking about how much I loved that character

And I was thinking about the Contest of Marvels too. If I had more time I'd love to try another season now that it's rested some, though I'm a little strapped for time these days.

Supreme Power #1

Marvel's dollar comic selection of the week. I remember loving this title, even with the huge delays Straczynski used to have. I'm still peeved that the one storyline was never completed...or even explained later when someone else took over the writing. This first series, though, was fantastic. (Though, I gotta say, some of the shine does wear off; but, some scenes still hold their same impact, like when the doggy gets offed.)

It's only a buck, and if you never read it, it's the perfect chance to see how it all started.

I hate bothering with MAX titles, as I'm more of a PG-13 type of guy, but MAN that series was fantastic. I read that whole run and about half of the Hyperion mini before I trailed off. I always wanted to get back into it but after hearing the next ongoing was never finished I was turned off.

To this day I think my favorite scene is the Hyperion/Doctor Spectrum fight around issue 9. Good stuff

 

[JewishHobbit]

Some additional data about ASTONISHING SPIDER-MAN & WOLVERINE #6: which only X-Men fans may care about. While it is a throwaway mini series in a lot of ways that may not "count" for much besides being a bizarre Mojo story, there are two interesting angles played up within it, since Jason Aaron is also writing stuff like WOLVERINE and I believe X-MEN SCHISM.

- Wolverine's brother Dog was zapped into the present day in the epilogue, so expect him to show up somewhere.

- The "generic love interest" Mojo zapped into the adventure, Sara Bailey, has an interesting name. That is actually the married name of Jean Grey's sister, Sara Grey. She went missing in X-FACTOR #12, circa 1987. At the time, Sara had become a mutant rights spokesperson and was speaking out against the fire-bombing of a mutant's home. Jean feared this would make her sister a target, and found that her apartment had been emptied; she and Cyclops barely escaped a firebomb planted within it. The subplot was promptly forgotten. Sara was listed as dead back during the PHALANX COVENANT story in 1994. At conventions, Chris Claremont claimed he'd intended for Sara to be revealed as Nanny, who went around kidnapping mutants with Orphan-Maker, but it was one of many things he didn't get around to (which makes sense since Sara's children later wound up as part of Nanny's army initially). Marvel Handbooks and Marvel.com's Bio naturally list Sara Bailey-Grey as "deceased". So is this the same Sara Bailey, somehow amnesic and working as a bank teller, then mixed up in an adventure with Mojo, Spider-Man, and Wolverine? Or just an amazing coincidence of name to pluck out of the air for a semi-X-Men adventure (since it involved Wolverine and Mojo, two X-Men figures)? Wolverine didn't seem to notice Sara much; he sometimes has been able to detect siblings of people by scent, depending on how omnipotent his tracking power is that month. On the other hand, Wolverine is the sort who may stumble upon something important and not bother telling anyone for months (such as when Jean Grey first returned after the end of Dark Phoenix, or that the Agents Of Atlas were heroes), just because nobody asks or he's been a dick.

Hmm... very interesting. Aaron seems to be pretty good with continuity so these could be some good things here. Thanks for the heads up since I've not read this book. Lack of cash stopped me from picking it up but maybe I'll search for some back issues when I'm able.

This makes me wonder if perhaps Dog could have something to do with Wolverine's being sent to Hell.... Hmmmm.

 

[Dread]

I remember when Next Generation came out and the fanbois crapped their pants because there was no Kirk or Spock. Seven seasons later and its one of the better Star Trek series. All it takes is for a publisher to make a change and stick with it. Like why Kyle became Green Lantern..sure people flipped their lids but after a few years they came around and he had a big following...and they flipped when the decision was made to bring back Hal and the rest of the Corps.
If Marvel never planned to return Steve to the stars and stripes they had a successful transition to a younger hero(though not that much younger).
Whats the point of having a young teenage team if there are no plans to have them replace the main heroes?
However you are right. The companies arent about to let Cannonball and Moonstar replace Cyclops and Storm as the X-men and mutant-kind leadership. Bruce forming planet-wide army of Batmen is a step in the right direction for Batman but how long will it be until Bruce is the only one?

A fair point about "STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION"; one could argue Trekkies are more hardcore than many comic book fans, or at least have a reputation for being so. That said, ST:TNG debuted in 1987, long before the modern Internet and in an entirely different market for TV and the economy. The world of syndicated TV is much different now than in 1987; cable networks were still small and considered a luxury to the populace at large, for one thing. Plus, as ST:TNG went along, it included appearances by many of the original STAR TREK crew members (including Mr. Spock more than once), including an entire film devoted to having Kirk and Picard meet.

Of course, this simply means that the time to have started this sort of thing with certain franchises or characters was perhaps a decade or two ago, but that goes without saying. That isn't to say such things would have lasted forever, anyway. As ASM fans know, a 20 year marriage was something Marvel sought to undo in a 4 issue mini series. DC has made a running gag out of icing a younger legacy hero to bring back the "golden oldie" in a starring role. It could be argued that it is better for certain characters to remain in a limbo state than to have periods of up's and down's.

To be fair, the cast of NEW MUTANTS from the 80's have probably been treated far better than the cast of GENERATION X after them, and ACADEMY X after that. Some of them, like Cannonball, did become X-Men for a while. Others became mentors to new students for years of time. Their latest relaunch has actually endured for what is going on 3 years, a considerable run for a relaunch these days (just ask MOON KNIGHT or BLACK PANTHER). They're not X-Men, but they've probably had it better than characters created in the 90's or 21st century after them. It doesn't say much, but it's something.

To a degree you're right that it would take a degree of editorial courage to change this situation for younger, newer characters. The dilemma is there is none. Nor is there an audience that may be terribly receptive to it. If Marvel decided to do an event where all their big name, adult, longtime heroes vanished for about a year and the youngsters had to take over by default (which is honestly the only way audiences will ever care about younger characters in my opinion at Marvel), I do not imagine it would be well received. Is that mostly due to a market they helped create? Yes. It is a difficult dilemma without an easy solution.

Hmm... very interesting. Aaron seems to be pretty good with continuity so these could be some good things here. Thanks for the heads up since I've not read this book. Lack of cash stopped me from picking it up but maybe I'll search for some back issues when I'm able.

This makes me wonder if perhaps Dog could have something to do with Wolverine's being sent to Hell.... Hmmmm.

As a bit of a warning, ASTONISHING SPIDER-MAN & WOLVERINE is an acquired taste. If you like Jason Aaron, it should be mad enough for you. If you don't, or you're iffy on him, I'd suggest at the very least getting it discounted on Amazon. It is a very bizarre, crazy story that challenges you to find meaning with it. The premise of the ASTONISHING brand was to provide continuity-free stories featuring well known characters. The dilemma is that stories that "don't matter" in the current market, especially for over-exposed characters like Spider-Man and/or Wolverine, tend to be ignored. Thus, Aaron plays with that "nobody cares" angle by telling a story that is bat-crap insane. Once Mojo's influence becomes known about midway through, it makes more sense, but even that matters less than you'd think. It does give Adam Kubert a chance to go wild on art like I haven't seen from him in years. And given that I usually can't stand Mojo, this is one of the best Mojo stories I've read.

The ending, as I stated this week, is an anti-climax, and it probably doesn't work. If any story called for a completely bonkers Jeph Loeb ending, this was it. Given that this was a $3.99 series, expect Marvel to overcharge for the trade or HC collection.

I don't know what impact Dog may have on WOLVERINE now. Aaron began this story a year ago, but the ending made it seem obvious that Dog was going to make his presence felt in the present soon. However, he's seemingly a powerless man from the 19th century with a shotgun, a beard, and a facial scar. Of course, so was Thorndrake in SECRET AVENGERS, and he somehow stumbled into running a whole evil empire. Given that Sabretooth is dead, Dog may be seen as some sort of replacement.

As for Sara Bailey, at least in ASM&W, she only got my attention because a potential subplot with her in ASM would probably be more interesting than Carlie Cooper, if only because Peter Parker has very rarely been able to say about a girl, "I'll never forget those awesome times we had in the wild west after defeating Mojo". Sure beats Tattoo-Gate. I doubt Dan Slott and Company will derail their BIG TIME run to do so, of course. They've already invested 2-3 years of effort into Carlie, so they won't give up on her now.

 

[JewishHobbit]

As for Sara Bailey, at least in ASM&W, she only got my attention because a potential subplot with her in ASM would probably be more interesting than Carlie Cooper, if only because Peter Parker has very rarely been able to say about a girl, "I'll never forget those awesome times we had in the wild west after defeating Mojo". Sure beats Tattoo-Gate. I doubt Dan Slott and Company will derail their BIG TIME run to do so, of course. They've already invested 2-3 years of effort into Carlie, so they won't give up on her now.

Personally, I'd rather see Peter become a Catholic Preast sworn to chastity and never see another woman again. Marvel's handling of his marriage has absolutely destroyed any potential romance plot Peter may have and all it is is a distraction and a bad taste in my mouth. Heck, I was loving Big Time (save a couple MJ scenes) until the FF issues but they didn't bother me too much. Two issues with actual focus on Carlie and it's the top book I may potentially drop. I've had them sitting aside for about two weeks now (with the Venom and FF issues I have) debating on whether to sell them on ebay, half priced books, or maybe continue. My only lingering thought is that I like Hobgoblin and Jackal.

Its kinda like how New Avengers was for you. I buy it every month with negative feelings, save that I"m buying it twice a month at $4 and am not enjoying it near enough for the price it's charging. Plus I feel Slott writes a poor Peter Parker. Yet, I've loved Spider-Man for 20 years. The kids at school (well, the Kindergardeners) call me Spider-Man because I wear Spidey shirts to school to make them smile, yet, I don't think I'd even want to give these comics to those kids because I don't feel the comics are good enough for them. I'm THAT tainted.

 

[Pyro Man]

Action Comics #901: Not a particularly good issue. It wasn't terrible but the whole thing just felt... forced and it didn't seem like Cornell was exactly having the time of his life writing this mandatory tie-in to the whole Reign of Doomsday fiasco. As such, this (quite just) lack of enthusiasm on Cornell's part shows through quite a bit causing a mediocre issue. 5/10

Detective Comics #877: Snyder's run continues as Strong as ever. This has the plot of and could have been just a bridge issue to the arc's conclusion but Snyder works so well with these characters that he keeps the issue from feeling that way and I enjoyed the stuff between Dick and Roadrunner. Jock's art was fantastic as always and it ends on nice little cliffhanger that leaves me excited for the next issue. 9/10

Mighty Thor #2: Overall I've been enjoying this series thus far but it feels a bit like Fraction's last arc with the Death Eaters did after a couple issues: lots and lots of set up. Luckily it remains engaging and the end of the issue makes it feel like the story will pick up big time next issue and I'm excited to see what happens next. Just hope Fraction is able to keep up the pace a bit better this time around. 8/10

Venom #3: I've been enjoying this title greatly since the first issue and its way better than any book starring Venom has the right to be. Remender's dialogue is spot on as always and he ratchets up the holy ***** quotient this issue just like the last ensuring that this will remain an engaging read for issues to come. This is definitely one of my favorite books Marvel's publishing at the moment and its shame I'll probably have to drop it once it becomes a Spider-Island tie in book later this summer. 9/10

FF#4: This book is proving to be another of my favorite published by Marvel. I really enjoyed the build up this issue and I'm excited to see how all the seeds Hickman has been planting will play out next issue. 9/10

Thoughts on books from the week before I just now got around to picking up:

Batman and Robin #23: This wasn't a terrible issue but it certainly didn't raise the bar. I don't like Winick anymore than the next guy but the man does know how to write Jason Todd and he does well with him this issue and creates interesting possibilities for the rest of the arc, but I really hope theres more to this story than us just getting to watch the Red Hood off a bunch of people. My main problem lies with the book's role in the Batman line at large. This title is gradually starting to feel like a filler book like Superman/Batman. I'm all down for a Bat book with short quick arcs that play with new ideas but the lack of a consistent creative team since Morrison left is killing the book and I'm frankly annoyed that DC told what were probably blatant lies about Tomasi (whose arc was fantastic I thought) sticking around for a while since after Winick's arc it looks like its David Hine's turn. I'd really prefer a consistent team that continues Morrison's structure of 3 issue arcs that build on each other to create and engaging continual story. Unfortunately, these concerns probably won't be addressed since in all likelihood they're just buying time till the DCU reboot in September and this title will probably land square on the chopping block. 7/10

Batman: Gates of Gotham #1: I still have nothing but praise for Snyder's Batman work and I'm excited to see where this storyline goes 8/10

Booster Gold #44: An alright if unspectacular Flashpoint tie in. Would have like to see more of the Flashpoint world than we did though. 6/10

Uncanny X-Force #10: A strong build up issue for the Dark Angel Saga 8/10

Avenges vs. New Ultimates #4: After last issuels collision with Ultimate Spider-man beyond the first few pages this series continues its very loose Death of Spider-man tie in status. It was nice to see stuff that Bendis didn't cover in Ultimate Spider-man 158 but this issue really gets going after the initial hub bub gets out of the way. The ending had a nice twist, even though it was one I was expecting, and ends with a possible death that may or may not stick. 8/10

Ultimate Spider-man #158: So far I'm really enjoying this arc and I'm excited to see how it plays out in the next two issues. I thought we got alot of good stuff here with Pete lamenting his situation and I enjoyed the Sinister Six (well five) vs. Human Torch and Ice Man. My favorite part had to be the last page though: if Spider-man does indeed die it appears that at least he'll go down swining and I'm excited to see that play out. 8/10