What You Should Have Read #55

Thought on Last Week’s Comics

Amazing Spider-Man #677 – I was not expecting Mark Waid’s name in the credits. I knew this was going to be a crossover with Daredevil, but I thought that Dan Slott would still have the writing duties on this side of the story. Hmm. I’m enjoying Waid’s current Daredevil run, but I’m nervous that this is going to be a little jarring compared to what I’ve come to love about Slott’s style with Spidey. Let’s see. […] Eh, not bad. Waid has a good handle on Spidey, and I loved the awkward at his suggestion of a hook-up to Felicia, but I like Dan Slott’s zaniness. I like the relationship between DD and Spidey. I’d go so far as to say they’re superhero best friends. You might argue and say Johnny Storm is in fact his BFF, but I look at them more like brothers. Waid uses that relationship to his advantage when Spidey swings to him for help in this issue. So, yeah, it’s a good issue, but it doesn’t totally feel like an ASM issue.

Brilliant #2 – I haven’t formed any concrete thoughts on this title yet. I’m a Brian Michael Bendis whore, I’ll admit that. I will buy every comic that lists him as the writer. I’m also a sucker for Mark Bagley. I’ve been enjoying his work since I picked up New Warriors #1 from the spinner rack…22 years ago? Damn, now I feel old. I’ve enjoyed the first two issues of this series, but I honestly can’t see anything new here, at least in the set-up. This whole thing sounds like it might have been a rejected idea for the new Ultimate Spider-Man. I can already see a “Peter vs. Harry” rivalry foreshadowed between Albert and Amadeus, unless (crossing my fingers here) Bendis is totally going to surprise us. That’s what I want, not Ultimate Spider-Man 2.0 (or I guess 3.0 would be more accurate).

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 9 #5 – I’m sure this issue will be another reason for the Buffy “purists” to continue hating on everything post-Season 5. Granted, I haven’t enjoyed everything that’s come after the TV show, but it hasn’t been bad, just different. The last page here, though…I don’t know. It seems like it’s the most shark jumpy thing you could do. I think I might have to take a break for a while and just focus on Angel and Faith. That’s a fun title.

Deathstroke #5 – So apparently Rob Liefeld is taking over this series in a couple of issues. I’ll be stopping with the issue prior to that. This book has been strong, so I don’t know why DC is messing with it. Does Liefeld EVER get positive press, fan reaction or critical reaction? Anyways, this issue went by extremely quickly. We learn how Alex hooked up with Slade, and we got just a smidge of history on Grant. Not bad, and a new Legacy shows up.

G.I. Joe: Cobra #8 – I’m not a big fan of villains. I mean, I like to watch heroes kick the crap out of them, but I don’t root for them. Now, if there’s a good reason for a villain to find redemption, sure, then I’ll root for him. Spike from Buffy the Vampire Slayer springs to mind. And sometimes I like how a villain is portrayed, but I love it even more when he’s brought up so high, because the fall is usually epic. Norman Osborn is a good example of that. But I don’t root for the villain. That said, I’m way more interested in the goings on of Cobra instead of the Joes. Sure, I’m digging on the entire line…well, THIS part of the line. A Real American Hero isn’t really my thing. But the way IDW has taken this cartoon and toy that I grew up with and made it into a serious comic is wonderful. It almost makes sense that the military would have a special group like this. Watching the rise of Cobra has been way more interesting, though. The writers of all the books have taken these extremely goofy characters and made them staggeringly dangerous and cunning. It’s been a surprise hit for me, and I can’t wait to see what the new Commander does.

Journey into Mystery #633 – The first half of this book was better than the last. It was Loki being a clever wordsmith. The stuff with Hellstrom just seems a little forced, shoehorned into this book. This book has been top-notch since the beginning, though, so I have faith in Kieron Gillen to pull it off.

New Avengers #20 – Holy crap on a biscuit, now THAT was a fight! I have always loved Osborn and his teams, be they Thunderbolts or Dark Avengers, and this new team is no exception. Granted, they don’t ACT like a team, but that’s part of the fun. The biggest question raised out of all this super-punching gooditude is, “What’s up with Osborn?” The Green Goblin can’t take a punch from Cage, let alone knock him the fuck off his feet. New Goblin formula? Something more devious? Probably something more devious.

Resurrection Man #5 – I don’t remember much at all about Mitch Shelley’s origin from his previous series. I’m pretty sure he was tied to Vandal Savage in some way, but I can’t remember how. Did their powers come from the same meteorite? That sounds like something I might have read. Anyways, I like the glimpse of his origin that we received in this issue. Deathstroke was shown just enough so as not to feel unnecessarily thrown into the issue. This book always hovers between solid read and must have comic, but continue with issues like this and it won’t be a question every month.

Scarlet Spider #1 – Other than Spider-Island (and the stuff with Kraven’s family before that) I have absolutely no ties to Kaine. I stopped reading all of the Spider-Man titles right as the clone crap was beginning, and I didn’t get back into it until way after the death of Ben Reilly. Because of that, I’ve only got a vague curiosity about this series rather than any real desire to read it. I must say that the first issue has at the very least made me decide to give it one more issue to fully snare me in its web. The pacing was good, the internal conflict gripping enough without totally turning Kaine fully into Peter Parker, and I want to know why this bad guy is destroying anything connected to the container of dead slaves.

Secret Avengers #21 – As with Bendis, I am also a Warren Ellis whore. I love it when he brings his fringe science love to superhero comics, so I’ve really been enjoying his short run on Secret Avengers. This issue, though, his final before Rick Remender takes over, was something of a letdown. Maybe it’s that I wanted a few more issues out of him or maybe something a little weirder, but this issue just didn’t sit well with me, especially the ending. We’re supposed to believe that Cap wouldn’t have given Hood a quick pat down to check for weapons? I know they were on a time crunch, but I don’t think he’s that sloppy. Oh well, what’s done is done. I’m looking forward to seeing where Remender takes this team. I’m hoping for a Secret Avengers vs. X-Force run-in when the whole Avengers vs. X-Men shebang goes down.

Shade #4 – I don’t remember it being mentioned in an interview prior to the beginning of the series (or since, I guess), but I guess this issue firmly puts the Shade in Earth 2, right? If Superman is the first superhero of the DC’s New 52, then if superpowers are known in WWII, then this has to take place on the JSA’s Earth 2, right? James Robinson is writing both of these, so it makes sense, but then you’ve got Deathstroke showing up in the first issue, which leads the reader to think this is in the main universe. Can the Shade traverse the multiverse via his shadow powers? I liked how Robinson brought in Vigilante, who he wrote years and years ago in a mini. All in all, this was a beautifully written comic. We’ve seen the Shade as someone with compassion and love in his heart, but saving his great grandson and then having a chat with him seemed to humanize him even more, but he still had that air of mystery about him. What a great, great issue. Also, in case you missed it over the weekend, I may have scooped a story on an artist for an upcoming Earth 2 arc. Maybe.

Suicide Squad #4 – While not a quirky as the previous series (well, Secret Six), Suicide Squad is shaping up to be a winner of a book. I like that writer Adam Glass is afraid to sacrifice who he needs to, even though he’s only working with mainly low-level characters. Right now this is shaping up to be a Deadshot book, and I’m okay with that. He’s the character with the highest profile, and right now he’s the only one whose back story I care about. I’m looking forward to seeing the new team next issue, and the hunt for Harley should be fun.

Wolverine #300 – Stop it, Marvel. Just stop right now. I had originally thought this issue was a special little thing, like issues 900 and 1,000, but no, this is another renumbering thing, isn’t it. Gah, useless. It’s nothing but a joke to you guys. Although, the issue was pretty good.

Wolverine and the X-Men #4 – I read this issue with a feeling of joy and happiness. The actions and words of just about every character seemed true and real. I like Logan’s no secrets policy. Is that Husk at the faculty table with her hands bandaged, or is this something we’re supposed to remember later, the fact that this person isn’t being listened to, is interrupted by Beast and then not seen the rest of the issue? I like that Genesis and Angel are getting this new start at the school. They’re both different sides of the same coin and seem to have unlimited potential to go either way in the grand scheme of things. I like Deathlok casually throwing out possible futures, and I like Bobby’s decision to take care of Warren. Good…no, GREAT stuff this issue.

X-Factor #230 – Not a ground-breaking issue by any means, but still a solidly entertaining one. Actually, some big things happen. Layla lets slip why she seems to know so much. Madrox gives us a disturbing yet totally reasonable explanation for his powers. And two X-Factor alumni show up, but that’s not really a surprise if you’ve been following X-news for the past few months. Still, the last page brought a smile to my face because I started reading the X-books with Peter David’s first go-around with X-Factor (and the rest of the line-wide direction shift of that time).

This week I'm looking forward to:

Fables #113

Wonder Woman #5

Amazing Spider-Man #678

Avengers #21

Avenging Spider-Man #3

Daredevil #8

Invincible Iron Man #512

Moon Knight #9

Thunderbolts #169

Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #6

Uncanny X-Force #20

Cobra #9

It’s a bad (good?) week to be a Bendis whore.

Also, in case you've forgotten: When I can remember to add this to the bottom of my posts, I’m going to whore myself out with an impassioned plea: click on the ads. PLEASE click on the ads. I don’t care if you exit out of it immediately or actually look around. This isn’t some professional blog where I believe in the products I’m shilling. These are automatic ads placed by Google. But when you click ads, I get a little bit of money, and as a single father of three, every penny from every source helps...especially with Christmas bills here and an unsure/shaky work situation. So I’m going to keep this tiny bit of begging at the bottom of my posts, and I hope you’ll take an extra 10 seconds after reading my blog to click on an ad. The only thing it costs you is time. :) Thanks so much!

Comic Book Reviews for the Week of Dec. 3, 2008 (On-Going Series)

Amazing Spider-Man #579

So now there’s mystery surrounding JJJ and his dad. And really, without being webbed up, did anyone actually expect the Shocker to stick around once they found safety? Waid’s first arc was decent, but pretty standard. We had a classic villain show up, we had Spidey defy the odds, and we had the introduction of a new character. Check, check, and check.

Criminal #7

Well, Mr. Brubaker took me by surprise with the end of this issue. And he showed us how everything worked out, too. I also like that Jacob didn’t get off scott free. Although, I guess you could say it’s poetic justice. It looks like everyone got what they deserved.

Justice Society of America #21

That was a pretty short issue and a pretty quick reversal by Gog’s followers. I would think there would be more anger toward Gog by the JSAers that followed him, or at least some pleading with him. But no, they went right to the fighting. More Kingdom Come-age, we saw Alan in his KC armor, and it looks like Jay was turned into the KC Flash. I wonder if that’ll be permanent. We’ll finally get to the conclusion next month. I hope that doesn’t mean it’ll be the last Alex Ross cover. I’ve been enjoying them.

New Avengers #47

I like what Bendis has done in New Avengers and Mighty Avengers, showing us events in the past that set up the Secret Invasion. This issue shows some key points in the blossoming relationship between Luke Cage and Jessica Jones. It ends with the two realizing that Skrull Jarvis has taken their baby. I would NOT want to be Skrull Jarvis when they find him. Of course, the baby is a Skrull too, right?

Sir Apropos of Nothing #2

Let’s see how many of the reference I can get: Chicken Little, Wizard of Oz, Bart Simpson, The Spirit (?), The Beatles, Snoopy and Charlie Brown, Thor, Winnie the Pooh and Piglet, Zorro, The Hulk, Sherlock Holmes, Dr. Who, Don Quixote, Peter Pan and Wendy, The Gunslinger, Fallen Angel, Popeye, Wizard of Oz again, Wolfman (?), Mutant Enemy, Bella Lugosi, and last but not least The Wizard of Oz yet again. David sure does like throwing all this crap in there. Of course, I still found it funny.

The Boys #25

This issue is more cryptic than anything. Hughie meets Godolkin and plants a bunch of bugs in the G-Men’s house and learns that Nubia isn’t quite as dead as everyone thinks she is. There’s some conspiring and some porn, and I like how Critter has his little neck shield on, I guess so he won’t lick himself. Other than that it’s just a lot of talking.

Comic Book Reviews for the Week of Nov. 19, 2008 (Regular Series)

Amazing Spider-Man #578

So, it’s Mark Waid’s first ASM issue. Not bad, I guess. We got some of the Master Planner feel without the heart. It was good to see the Shocker, a villain we haven’t seen in a while, but he was as much of a joke here as he’s ever been. The art by Marcos Martin was pretty decent. There was definitely a fluid, limber feel to Peter and Spider-Man, and it seemed natural. When McFarlane was drawing Spidey, the contorted poses he’d put our hero through seemed more painful than limber. Martin’s art worked well. And at the end Waid throws us a good cliffhanger. Who knew JJJ still had a parent who was alive?

Angel: After the Fall #14

I’m kind of surprised that L.A. has stayed occupied by Hell for so long. Ditto with Angel and his humanity. I thought the way he was saved this issue was pretty cheap, though. I think my favorite part was the conversation between Illyria and Wesley. As much as I liked Fred, I’m glad they didn’t bring her back. It would have kind of invalidated her death, which was a highlight of the last season. Of course, now she’s reverted to her true form, and I kinda hope she’s killed after this. If not, then what’s to stop the good guys from using her as an out to any difficult situation? So the only logical conclusions are to kill her or to severely deplete her powers. I like her as a character, but I think keeping her around if she can go full god at will would just lead to sloppy writing.

Brave and the Bold #19

I was really impressed with this issue, more so than I have been with any of the other 18 issues so far. It starts off with the Phantom Stranger and Green Lantern already together, so we don’t have to wade through any contrived method of getting the two together. A special girl who is channeling alien doomsday prophecies lead the duo to Oa and then to a pleasure planet that is supposed to be destroyed soon, where the duo meets up with another Lantern. The whole book worked really well. The interactions between the characters and everyone’s motivations rang true. And the art by Doug Braithwaite was quite good.

Deadpool #4

Double-cross seems to be the tagline for this series. I’m enjoying the banter between the multiple personalities, and the little glimpses into Deadpool’s maniacal mind by showing us what he sees. Other than that, it was a pretty average issue.

Ex Machina #39

I am just a little disappointed as to how Trouble was taken down. All this build up for a kiss and being knocked out with one punch. I almost have to believe that this just sets up a future storyline. She was just a crazy stalker-fan of The Great Machine? If it’s not setting up a future storyline, it leaves me very cold. And Kremlin is getting on my nerves. Let’s get his story going.

Fantastic Four #561

Well, this was a very logical solution, but it leads to questions. Why didn’t future Sue do this in the first place? She obviously already went through this, as evidenced by Reed injecting present Sue with a tracking device that immediately showed up in future Sue and future Sue knowing what was going to happen with Doom. But those flaws are easy to forgive. It was still entertaining, and the art by Bryan Hitch is always spectacular.

Iron Man #35

So wait, this whole thing was a set up for a new War Machine series? I hate it when that happens. I didn’t even think this was that great of a story. I’ll be looking forward to the return of Tony next month, even though I’m enjoying the Invincible Iron Man more than this series. I’m hoping this book will focus on rebuilding Shield after the Skrull invasion.

Squadron Supreme #5

I liked Straczynski’s take on the Squadron, but I’m not all that into where Chaykin is taking the story. First off, I was always under the impression that the Squadron members were analogs of DC characters, but clearly with this book we’re already seeing Spider-Man, Iron Man, Captain America, the Fantastic Four, Thor and the Hulk. I also don’t like the Ultimate Nick Fury over here. He needs to be stirring up shit in his own universe. With the mention of Nighthawk and the return (I don’t remember her, I’ll have to check my back issues) of Inertia, are we going to see a big battle between the original Squadron members and Fury’s new Shield?

Supergirl #35

I’m picking this up for two reasons: the Alex Ross cover and the New Krypton crossover. I’ve heard nothing but bad reviews about this series since it started, so let’s see. Well, I actually liked it. It looks like Sterling Gates used Kryptonite poisoning to explain all of Supergirl’s erratic behavior that made her so unlikable as a character. So now she has all of her memories back, and it looks like there’s either a new Supergirl in town or a Superwoman. I guess we’ll learn more in next week’s Superman.

Thunderbolts #126

What a great start for the new creative team, and it’s a logical one, too. Norman has effectively disbanded the T-bolts and behind the scenes he’s got the crazier members dispatching the saner ones. And so far it’s working. It’s only a two-issue storyline, so it looks like we won’t have to wait long to see if this is actually going to happen.

Trinity #25

I know it’s a pipe dream, but I’d really like to see Jack Knight show up. Tarot just showed up in Opal and met Charity, but Jack’s not even there anymore. I’d settle for a Shade appearance, though. I have to agree with Vibe. If the JSI were there as friendlies, why break through the walls? The bulk of the issue was two teams working through their differences for a common cause. We’ve seen it before, we’ll see it again, but I guess this is something we had to go through. Tarot, whom I thought was as boring as Hell in the beginning, was the interesting part of this story.

Ultimate Fantastic Four #58

Following up immediately after the events of Ultimatum #1, this was a very exceptional issue. While Ben does what he can (which isn’t much) to help Sue, we get glimpses into his past with Reed, which explain why they’re such good friends. Sue and Johnny’s dad is apparently dead, and as the buffer between the team and General Ross, that should have a great impact on the future of the kids. Ben ends up heading underground to bring in the Mole Man to help with Sue’s condition. The Sue stuff wasn’t all that great. Her mom, who either wasn’t told about her husband (ex?) or just didn’t care, is brought in to help and is pretty much useless. The gems are the flashbacks of Reed and Ben. Ben isn’t using Reed to get out of doing homework, and Reed isn’t using Ben to protect him from bullies. These two kids are best friends, plain and simple.

Young X-Men #8

The banter between Santo and Victor was great. The super-powered tattoo artist is a good idea. It takes DC’s Tattooed Man to a new level. Almost a year into this book and it’s holding strong. I think it’s funny that I’m not even trying to get into the two main X-books (Uncanny and Legacy), but I’m loving this book and Astonishing.

Comic Book Reviews for the Week of Nov. 12, 2008 (On-Going Series)

Action Comics #871

It seems like every five years or so I start picking up the Superman titles again, only to drop them in less than a year. This time it was the New Krypton storyline that brought me back in. I’m actually surprised I haven’t jumped in sooner since the books have Geoff Johns and James Robinson writing the stories with Alex Ross providing covers. But the New Krypton stuff brought me back. I want to see what happens when the Earth has to cope with 100,000 Supermen. I wasn’t too terribly lost with this issue. It seems like every time I pick the books back up, Brainiac looks different. I’m sure I’ll read the back issues at some point. General Lane shot Luthor. That was cool. And Agent Liberty is still alive? How is that possible? I would have figured he would have been cannon fodder a long time ago. And it was nice seeing Doomsday getting his evolving ass handed to him by a small army of Kryptonians. I’ll definitely stick around for a few more months.

Amazing Spider-Man #577

My favorite Spider-Man/Punisher team-up is when Garth Ennis brought him in for an issue of his Marvel Knights on-going series. Hilarious. This one wasn’t bad. I’m starting to enjoy Zeb Wells. He seems to have just as good of a handle on the Spider-verse as the other writers on the series. I’m not as big of a fan of Paolo Rivera. Actually, it was just his Spider-Man that I didn’t care for that much, but he’s the title character, so that’s kind of important. I hope we’re close to seeing the end of this Spider Tracer Killer sub-plot. It’s gone on long enough, I think.

Booster Gold #s 13 and 14

"M-magic hand! A magic hand took my freeze-gun!!"
"Thank you, magic hand."

I don’t know how I missed last month’s issue, but I did. It looks like we’ve got a new creative team here: Rick Remender and Pat Olliffe. Sounds like it should be a solid team. Halfway through issue 13, I was thinking that this felt a lot like the most recent Atom series, and then who should show up but Chronos and Lady Chronos, whom I last saw in The All-New Atom. This was a great start for Rick and Pat. They immediately jumped into a world conqueror and managed to take Rip out of the picture so all the focus can be on Booster. Good call. Okay, pretty much because of the magic hand scene, Remender has sold me. He’s perfect for this book. This little two-parter really showed us how he’s going to handle Booster, and I think it’ll be great.

Captain Britain and MI-13 #7

"Lady J, I like the way you fight. Promise I won’t kill you. Until we’re out of this."

This has been a surprise hit (for me, at least) springing out of Secret Invasion. I think it’s so awesome when I can pick up a book at random and a writer can just blow me away with great stories about characters I’ve never cared about. This issue see Brian getting his fondest wish, having Meggan back. But his insane brother Jamie returns, and I have no idea if that’s part of his dream or if Jamie is somehow snapping him out of this. Or if Meggan will eventually come back with him when this is all over. Also, there’s a small matter of the Black Knight not actually having the Ebony Blade. I don’t know what that means, but I remember a small kerfluffle a few years ago regarding the Blade and the Black Panther and there being two blades floating around the Marvel Universe. I guess we’ll get the final answer to that next issue.

Fables #78

"But, Miss Beauty, this wasn’t the usual poop! It was all wet and messy and explosive even! It’s splattered everywhere."

Ah, Buffkin. Even flying monkeys have a fascination with poop. Boy Blue sure has had a rough time of it. Red Riding Hood wasn’t really Red Riding Hood, Rose Red wasn’t into him like he was into her, and now he’s lost an arm. Sucks to be him. The backup story was just...weird.

Fallen Angel #31

"As for you...you were right the first time. You are just a bitch."

I like that the farther we get into the story, David is throwing more and more Biblical references in here. It makes sense since Lee is ACTUALLY a Fallen Angel. We also got a lot of information here concerning the roles of various characters, specifically the original sinners.

Ghostbusters #2

"You got beat up by conjoined twins in high school?"

Eh, it’s okay. I think I enjoyed the first issue more just because I hadn’t even watched the movies in so long, it brought back some memories. But really, this isn’t anything that hasn’t been done over in Marvel or DC before.

Gravel #6

"I’m sorry I had to kill your special magic daddy."

I thought Ellis’ idea for Gravel, a combat magician, was brilliant. If there’s magic in the world, why WOULDN’T a government put it to a military use? This issue sees Gravel coming to terms with his inheritance after killing Royston. He gets money, he gets an estate, and he gets a semi-trained group of fighters, and he wants none of it. I can’t necessarily say I’d make the same choice.

Green Lantern Corps #30

I thought the Zamarons were relatively human looking females,. These are not the Zamarons I remember from the Millennium crossover from two decades ago. Peter Tomasi is doing a great job of showing that the Guardians have blinders on when it comes to their cause, just as the Zamarons do with theirs. So now another directive, one that prohibits relationships between Green Lanterns, will be written into the book of Oa. Oh, the Guardians are just bringing this war upon themselves.

Sir Apropos of Nothing #1

"The man in black fled across the desert."

I’ll buy just about any comic with Peter David’s name on it. As for his books, I’ve only read two (both of the Imzadi ones), but I’ve been meaning to get a hold of the Sir Apropos books. Now I can about him in comic book form. Okay, the first page? Any reader of the Dark Tower books or people who read the first issue of Peter’s adaptation of the Gunslinger will find it hilarious. From the first two pages we’re already getting Peter’s love of wordplay. I have high hopes for the rest of the book. Heh, the Aybee Sea. And the ending recalled more of the Gunslinger. Very nice. Peter has won me over again. I’ll be back next month for the next installment.

The Walking Dead #54

"The thing about smart mother fuckers is that sometimes, they sound like crazy mother fuckers to stupid mother fuckers...I hope you guys aren’t a bunch of stupid mother fuckers...because Eugene here sure as fuck ain’t crazy."

I don’t remember quite so many f-bombs before in this book. But we’re finally getting back on track. Now, with the group joining up with the people heading to D.C., the book has a purpose again. It was too boring, too same-old same-old when they were just sitting around at the prison. Now they’ve got a purpose, some new characters, and we may find out how this all happened. Oooh, something to look forward to! That hasn’t happened in a while!

Titans #7

Okay, that’s just stupidity on the part of the Titans. Since he returned in Teen Titans, Jericho has been nothing but a villain. I still can’t tell if this comes before or after DC Universe: Decisions. If it’s after, that means that the end of Decisions ruined the end of this and the Titans will retrap Jericho in Match and ship them back to Star Labs. If it’s before, then Jericho was still bad and the Titans shouldn’t have trusted him. I call this very sloppy writing since Winnick wrote (or was at least co-writer) of both books.

Trinity #24

"Air is for cowards!"

It looks like we’re finally on our way to seeing the fixing of Earth, now that the "trinity" of the JSA are somewhat back in their own minds. And there’s still more villainy goodness to be had in the back-up, with Krona taking John Stewart, and Despero and Kanjar Ro about to form an alliance with the "trinity" from the Crime Syndicate of Amerika.

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Listening to: Alien Ant Farm - Tragedy (Hidden Track)
via FoxyTunes