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What You Should Have Read #16

Ugh, I’ve been sick for most of the week, but now it’s Wednesday and I’m feeling TONS better and it’s new comic day.

Amazing Spider-Man #623

Boys #40

Buffy the Vampire Slayer #33

Invincible Iron Man #24

Justice League: Cry for Justice #7

Mighty Avengers #34

New Ultimates #1

Prelude to Deadpool Corps

Stephen King’s N #1

Ultimate Avengers #5

What, by Jove, is Stephen King’s N? This is something I must have. It’s what I’m most interested in this week.

Avengers Books

So that’s how the rift between Captain America and Iron Man post Civil War is going to be repaired? He doesn’t remember because he backed himself up on a hard drive before Stamford and the Civil War happened? Gah, big cheat! Invincible Iron Man is consistently one of my favorite books each month, mainly because of how smart it is, but this issue didn’t really prove that. It just took the easy way out of a difficult and uncomfortable situation. Does everybody just forgive and forget now, because technically this Tony Stark is not the same one that was a proponent of the Superhero Registration Act and who was director of Shield. Sigh.

Well, that was not a direction I saw coming in Mighty Avengers. It seems like writer Dan Slott had to do something quick to get rid of everyone on the team except for Jarvis and Jocasta, and I guess everybody had other things they could be doing, so that’s why nobody else stayed around to argue about Pym’s stability. It seems like a bit of a cheat, though. Too easy. And there’s no telling if Loki was lying or not about Hank being Scientist Supreme. I mean, that would be great if he’s not because the title is extremely cheesy and it would make him look like such a fool for going around and bragging about it so much. But who can really tell when Loki is lying and when he isn’t?

 

Books Based on Other Books

Okay, Stephen King’s N. is incredibly creepy, and I want to read the short story that it is based on. According to the afterward by writer Marc Guggenheim, it was as yet unpublished in February, so I’m guessing it still is. I’ve never been afflicted with OCD or paranoia, but I’ve experienced them through a loved one, so N.’s story to his therapist is just, well, creepy. And Guggenheim did an excellent job, as other King adaptors before him at Marvel, of making this feel like a King book. This was the surprise of the week, and it was a good one.

Fall of the Hulks Books

Is it a coincidence that Fall of the Hulks: Savage She-Hulks is coming out the same week as Girl Comics? The female part of this whole Hulk story has been the least interesting so far. I DO want to know who the Red She-Hulk is, but that’s about as far as my interest extends. I’m assuming this series won’t deal with that, though. It looks like this is going to tell the story of how the Wizard was able to recruit Thundra’s daughter to be a member of his Frightful Four team and help take down the Fantastic Four at the beginning of the Fall of the Hulks.

Realm of Kings Books

Well, Realm of Kings: Son of Hulk is not doing anything to make me like this kid any more. What is going to be interesting, though, is what happens with the Enigma Force. I’ve been somewhat intrigued by it ever since Spider-Man was hit by it and became Cosmic Spider-Man for a while. It’s a fascinating thing that makes each wielder pretty much omnipotent. I never realized that somebody controlled it for a thousand years or so. Screw Hiro-Kala, let’s focus on this.

Spider-Man Books

Yet another amazing Spider-Man tale (see what I did there?). Electro’s breakout of the new Vulture was nice. And does anyone who is reading this (assuming anyone IS reading it) actually remember the original Electric Company? I used to have a subscription to its magazine, and it always had a Spider-Man comic in it (I hope I’m not misremembering 3-2-1 Contact). I thought that I recognized Simple Simon, and now I’m wondering if the look of the character actually came from one of those strips. As for the mob using JJJ to throw the Vulture off of them, I’m going to let it play out a bit more before I judge it. It’s got potential, though.

Ultimate Books

Ultimate Avengers was about two pages of story stretched out to an entire issue. It was kind of like Superman Returns: a few good scenes, but not a good overall movie (or issue, in this case). I think we’ve had plenty of examples of how ruthless, amoral and purely evil the Red Skull is, so the bit with the wife and the baby in the beginning was a bit unnecessary. And the Kennedy stuff seemed to be pandering. Then, when we’re being force fed about how evil the Red Skull is, after having an entire building full of A.I.M. commandoes eat themselves, he lets the Avengers have their way with him for a bit. I enjoyed the French guards standing up for their nation, but then Millar came back and portrayed them as pussies. It’s a lame call-back from his first run with the team. I can’t say enough good stuff about the art, though. Carlos Pacheco will probably always be in my top three.

First, the title of this book is horrendous. Ultimate New Ultimates? Is this supposed to be a joke? Did they have to throw Ultimates in front just so it would fall nicely in alphabetical order with the rest of the OCD fanboys’ longbox collections? Second, I feel bad that writer Jeph Loeb lost his teenage son to cancer, and the support they both received from the comic book community was phenomenal. Heck, the boy even got a story published and illustrated by the top artists in the business (Superman/Batman #26), and Jeph had a very touching back-up in that issue where a young Clark Kent befriends a boy named Sam. But I think having Tony Stark talk about this Sam he met while going through chemo was somewhat crass. THIS is the type of book you want to immortalize your son in? A violent, somewhat amoral book of celebrity superheroes? Maybe I’m looking at it too deeply, but I’d find another way if it were one of my kids. Aside from that, the writing isn’t nearly as bad as the previous series, so yea for that. The art is just meh and a little stiff. I’ll stick around for this big Defenders mystery and to see if Thor is going to sire an offspring, but I’m digging Ultimate Avengers a LOT more than this book.

X Books

Deadpool Team-Up contained a pretty excellent idea, but, as with every complaint I make with this book, it just wasn’t Deadpool funny. I love that ‘Pool was using the comatose guy’s body as a sort of voodoo doll for It! The Living Colossus! But where were the wisecracks? Well, the attempt was there, they just weren’t funny. Leave Deadpool his one main book and cancel the others, or at least hire somebody funny to write this spin-off.

I have no shame in the fact that I was a huge Rob Liefeld fan in the early ‘90s. I’ve grown since then, though, and as an artist, Mr. Liefeld really hasn’t. Big guns, sketchy lines everywhere, and characters with ridiculously thin waists. But it’s Prelude to Deadpool Corps, so I’ve gotta get it. Ugh, it wasn’t worth it, though. This was not funny Deadpool. This was like a bad parody of Deadpool. If the rest of this mini is as bad as this first issue, then I’m going to be yet again disappointed by a Deadpool spin-off.

Sometimes the Wolverine buddy stories, where he’s out bar hopping and drinking and having meaningful conversations, those are some of the best Wolverine stories around. Now, with Captain America back, Wolvie takes him on an around-the-world pub crawl in the latest issue of Wolverine: Weapon X. It’s funny, and it’s poignant, and it ends in a bar brawl. Oh, and there are multiple Deathloks running around killing what seem to be future heroes. Maybe. Maybe we’ll get a bit of an explanation next issue as they go after Captain America.

X-Men: Hope is a reprint book. It collects the back-up stories that ran through some of the X-books, what, a month or so ago? Get this only if you haven’t read those stories already. Nothing new to see here.

Justice Books

I like team books that have members who can think and not just hit things. JSA All-Stars seems to be a hitting book, not much of a thinking one. Sand is back, so I guess he’s the resident thinker. I would assume he told Courtney to go with Johnny Sorrow, probably to rescue Al from the Subtle Realms. Hopefully we’ll learn next issue how he got there, and won’t be all punch this and kick that.

After getting so excited about Justice League: Cry for Justice, with Robinson writing and one of the Starmen and the Shade appearing, I feel let down. What was accomplished? The heroes got punked, a city was destroyed, one of their own was maimed and his daughter killed in the destruction, and all for what? I’ve got no problem with the final scene. I think that’s perfectly within character. But the whole thing just seems pointless. There was a big deal in the beginning about making everyone know that the lame Prometheus running around wasn’t the real deal. Now the real deal is back, he’s badass, and shit’s going to happen. And now there can be no follow-up. It just seems like a wasted idea, and not an original one at that (Coast City and Gotham have already been destroyed).

Superman Books

Two out of the three stories in Adventure Comics were passable. The Brainiac 5 tidbit was nice, but the rest of that Legion story was meh. Oh dear, we’ve got to go back in time and save Superman. That’s pretty much an impotent threat. The Espionage Squad was a bit better. It looks like Last Stand of New Krypton is going to answer a LOT of questions, questions that have been lingering just a little too long. I am SOOO ready to move on to something new.

 

Other DC Books

If you like mysteries, I would suggest giving First Wave a try. At first glance, it might seem like DC’s answer to Marvels Project, a story dealing with the company’s Golden Age characters…and Batman (who actually doesn’t show up in this issue). But it’s a good mystery. We’re given three separate head scratchers, and you wonder how everything is going to fit together in just six short issues. I’m also looking forward to learning about some classic characters that I’ve never given a chance.

 

Buffy Books

Oh, wow, Bill Willingham is owning Angel. He is taking everything I liked about the show and making it his own. He’s also adding to the mythology. I never realized that vamps could lose body parts and regrow them. I loved everything about the main story. Of course, it was very Spike-heavy, so that’s definitely a plus, but the “conversation” between Angel and Illyria was great, too. As for the back-up, that was just meh. But was the guy at the end, was that the guy who tried to cook and serve Nina the Werewolf to a room full of people during the last season of Angel?

I can’t say that I understand what’s going on in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 8, but I don’t think I like it. Angel is Twilight? And they have some primal connection or power? I think Buffy’s original appeal was that, yeah, she had a bit of power, but she was trying to be a normal girl. Now she’s mythic. The bit with Andrew as an amalgam of superheroes, though, was quite funny and enjoyable. Oh, and how is character whose publishing rights are owned by a different company allowed to appear here? Does Joss have a bit of pull since he created them both? Or is this not actually Angel?

 

Other Books

As a somewhat omniscient reader of The Boys, I hate that Butcher has the wrong idea about Hughie. Dude just found something that makes him happy, but to the leader of a group of anti-superhero commandoes, it does look slightly bad when your newest recruit is dating a cape. I hope that Butcher discovers the truth before doing something awful, but I’m not counting on it. I like Super Duper. It’s nice to see some innocent capes in this book, but I assume that they’ll be torn apart by the end of this story. And the pictures of the Homelander made me a bit sick. Thanks for the shock, Ennis.

Well, I gave Green Hornet a try based solely on Kevin Smith, and I found it lacking. I loved what the man did with his View Askewniverse movies, but other than that, I don’t enjoy him as a comic book writer. I thought the book was boring, and as a new reader to Green Hornet, watching a passing-of-the-torch ceremony does not interest me at all, especially with a character whose history I know nothing about. Pass.

What You Should Have Read #13

There’s snow on the ground, so I feel I need to be curled up somewhere with comics in my hands. Anything worthy this week?

Amazing Spider-Man #620

Dark Tower Battle of Jericho Hill #3

Enders Game Command School #5

R.E.B.E.L.S. #13

S.W.O.R.D. #4

Secret Six #18

Ultimate Comics Armor Wars #4
Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #7

Eight top-notch books. That’s pretty hefty for one week. Granted, I’ll be reading a lot more, but these eight will be read with a certain…care and consideration. I’m most interested in seeing how S.W.O.R.D. will play out after the surprisingly awesome issue last month.

Realm of Kings Books

All right, it’s about time we got to the menace that Quasar found out about a few months ago (in OUR time, not comic book time). I just didn't think it was going to be in the Realm of Kings: Imperial Guard book. You gotta wonder, though…what’s going on with Quasar? He obviously didn’t escape unscathed, so did he lead the invasion force here, or was that just a misdirect at the end of the Realm of Kings one-shot? And is this even the 616 Universe’s Quasar? It was mentioned in the one-shot that the Fault-universe’s Quasar had left also. I’m betting this Quasar and the one that returned to Project: Pegasus are two different entities. The question is, which is which?

 

Ultimate Books

As whole, I really enjoyed Ultimate Armor Wars. As a final issue, though, it just felt rushed. From the attack by Tony’s grandfather’s goons, to the revelation that the mastermind was in fact Tony’s thought-to-be-dead grandfather, to Tony’s miraculous 11^th hour save, it was just too…darned…rushed.

I thoroughly dislike this faux-Manga artwork being used in Ultimate Spider-Man, but I can get past it because I like everything else about the book so much. I had forgotten all about the Watcher appointing a herald in the Ultimate Origin mini, but Johnny asking if it was him in the flashback brought it all (well, a bit of it) back. Having it be Rick Jones? Pretty cool. I can even get past the fact that he lives across the street from Peter and maybe has for quite some time, but Peter doesn’t even know who he is. I can’t wait to see where this is going.

 

X Books

I am really feeling no love for the New Mutants. Scott said it himself this issue, these guys and gals ARE X-Men. I understand that he’s looking for his future replacement, but wouldn’t it be better to look for that in a regular X-Men team rather than a team that just screams “NEWBIE” and “UNTESTED”? And the title is deceptive because there’s not one NEW mutant on the team. This is the original third wave (the first would be the original X-Men, and the second would be the team that Professor X gathered to rescue the originals from Krakoa); not everything old has got to be new again.

X-Men: Pixie Strikes Back was a confusing book. And not confusing in a good, I’ve-got-to-see-how-this-plays-out way, but confusing in an oh-my-God-this-is-stupid-and-I-want-nothing-more-to-do-with-it way. With the opening, I assumed that the teen X-girls were attempting to go to a normal high school, but that obviously isn’t the case. This is almost like a weird, stream-of-consciousness magic thing, where everybody is just talking, regardless of if they’re making sense or not. No more of this mini for me, thank you.

Deadpool Team-Up is a pretty much just one, long, over-used joke. And like all long and over-used jokes, it’s not funny anymore. Wade randomly teamed up with a space trucker and fought some biker raccoons? The whole time I was confused as to how the raccoons learned to ride bikes and fire weapons, but that was quickly explained away at the end. And I learned more about U.S. Ace than I ever wanted to know. It’s Deadpool and I expect a certain amount of frivolity and irreverence, but this was just plain stupid.

Okay, we’ve got another crack in Osborn’s armor in Dark X-Men. I can get behind that. I’m even okay with the Goblin persona taking over. I don’t think I buy it, though, that Weapon Omega was the lone voice of dissent. He never struck me as that clever. And Nate’s big plan was to unleash the Goblin? Is that so the world can finally (again?) see Osborn for what he really is? Okay, but four faux X-Men aren’t the world, and two of them are villains in their own right, so what’s he really accomplishing? And will this all end with Nate being Osborn’s secret weapon from the Siege: The Cabal one-shot? There’s a lot of speculation going around that that is in fact Nate. But who knows. After the most recent events of Siege, it could have been a Void-controlled Sentry. I guess we’ll get a better answer about Nate by the end of the final issue.

 

Other Marvel Books

I used to really like the monthly What If series from Marvel. I’m somewhat a fan of alternate versions of things. It’s probably why I like song remixes and mash-ups so much. But these past few years, with Marvel’s new What If non-series, I’ve been less than impressed, and the reason is illustrated with What If: World War Hulk. Rather than spending a whole issue on fleshing out a good thought, the book is split into two stories, which are pretty watered down. I enjoyed the premise of the main story, but too many things were glossed over or under-explained.

The best thing about each issue of Vengeance of the Moon Knight is the cover by Leinil Francis Yu. Everything after that is confusing, at least to a less-than-casual reader of the hero. I get the premise, that he was bat-shit crazy in his previous series and incredibly violent, very much like the Punisher, and now he’s toned down and is trying to be a better hero while keeping the crazy to a minimum. What did he do to piss off Osborn, though, and have him send the Hood to get him? The fights this issue were short, peppered throughout the book, and somewhat pointless. He’s supposed to be fighting Bushman, but he can’t get past his random lackeys? And why was Spidey even here? That was pretty pointless.

The scathing wit and humor weren’t quite as prevalent in this issue of S.W.O.R.D., but it showed up where it could, and that’s all right. Brand handled the Metroliths wonderfully. And Gyrich, with his not backing down to Osborn and claiming that the symbiote will eventually have to go, is classic Gyrich. I want to know who/what that robot thing is. He’s like Loki, but more likeable and less slick and slimy.

Daniel Way must be the best writer ever, because, and I can’t believe I’m saying this, but Hit-Monkey was one of the best books of the week. With a book about an assassin monkey (monkey assassin sounds like someone who kills monkeys), you’d think this would be a story with tongue firmly planted in cheek. But it’s not. Way gives Hit-Monkey a somewhat serious origin. And other than the ridiculousness of seeing a monkey practice martial arts and then kill a hit squad, there’s really nothing funny about the book. And that’s what makes it good.

I have the same problem with Ender’s Game: Command School that I had when I finished Ender’s Game, the book. It all happens so fast. I love the idea of the kids actually fighting the war and Ender not knowing this. But once Ender got on Eros and was “introduced” to Mazer, everything just happened so fast. It came as quite a shock after the somewhat more leisurely pace of battle school. That doesn’t diminish the fact, though, that this is probably the best science fiction book I’ve ever read, and rereading it in this medium did not lessen that experience.

Have I mentioned that I’m really liking the direction that Amazing Spider-Man is going lately? I do. I really do. This go-around, Mysterio didn’t really get a power-up, per se, but he attempt to up his “street cred” a bit by taking over the destroying the Maggia as well as Mr. Negative’s gang. It didn’t work out, but I like the ambition. And it didn’t seem to phase him all that much that Spidey won out at the end of the day. I can’t wait to finally see what the Kravinoffs have in store for Spidey, and this reunion of the Sinister Six (‘cause I promise that’s what’s happening) has the makings of something epic.

 

Blackest Night Books

What an awesome ending to the Secret Six/Suicide Squad clash. Last issue was a bit bumpy, but this one finished off the crossover quite nicely. I think Waller, and at the end Flagg, let the Six go all too easily, but if that’s what it takes to keep this team together and this book going, then that’s perfectly fine with me. The cool moments and verbal jabs were wonderful. Savage admitting that she was allowing Bane to think he was in charge. Waller’s revelation at the end (which was news to me even though I’ve been reading the SS books since Infinite Crisis…had that nugget of info already been mined?). Lawson’s apparent indifference at the possible death of Catman. Excellent stuff.

Sometimes a book starts out well, but a company-wide crossover comes a long and just about destroys any momentum that may have built up. That’s what has happened with Adventure Comics. It was going along great for a few issues, then Blackest Night came along and we got all of the Superboy Prime crap, and now we’ve got the Nekron-controlled Superboy. Aren’t Luthor and Brainiac plotting something somewhere? Isn’t that what’s supposed to be going on? That said, I thought Conner’s solution was pretty ingenious. Can we back to the regular story now, though?

 

Justice Books

Well, JSA All-Stars should have been read before the most recent Justice Society Annual. The brunt of the main story does nothing but set up the plot for it. We also get a little bit of Sandy being all ominous. That guy’s been pretty useless since the end of the last JSA series. And then there’s the Hourman/Liberty Belle back-up. It’s wonderful to see a superhero couple portrayed as having a normal, loving marriage…but it makes for some boring reading. I like the fact that they’ve got separate day jobs now, as referenced in the main story.

 

Superman Books

While being a bit wordy with the encyclopedic tidbits, Action Comics was pretty good. We learned about the history of Nightwing and Flamebird and the jealous third wheel. I can’t remember if it’s actually been stated, but that story combined with Jax-Ur having his hand in the Nightwing/Flamebird pie greatly implies that he is the vessel or reincarnation or whatever of the Builder/Breaker. Good history lesson, and good story.

 

Other DC Books

I have no idea what’s going on with the Titans. With half of them becoming members of the JLA, will there be a Titans team other than the Teen Titans? Does there need to be? I don’t think so. The last page says “End,” but I’m not sure if it’s the end of the series or the end of the two-part storyline. I’m kind of hoping it’s the end of the series.

I like the few similarities between S.W.O.R.D. and R.E.B.E.L.S.: they’re both acronyms, they’re both about aliens, and they both usually contain quite a bit of sarcasm. This actually has nothing to do with the issue, though. I’m worried about Starro’s fate. Dox’s team has a plan to stop and possibly kill him, as does Tigorr’s team. Usually when this happens, the two plans end up canceling each other out. There will be a lot of disappointed people, including some closest to Starro, if he doesn’t end up being killed by one of these methods. Oh, and small body/large head Despero was awesome, and it was an injustice to the reader to only see him for one panel. I’m just glad we didn’t have to see his “little conqueror.”

I have absolutely no knowledge of the Human Target. Before the show started a few weeks ago, I knew the character existed, but that’s it. I’ve never read a comic with him in it. So I don’t know how the show matches up with the original premise of the comic. What I DO know is that fans of the show will more than likely enjoy this comic. It captures the feel of the show perfectly. I can actually imagine Mark Valley, Chi McBride and Jackie Earle Haley saying the lines of their respective on-screen characters. Other than that, though, the book is slightly corny.

All in all, the Shield is a good book. Good storytelling, good art, good character. Even the backup story with the Flame and Comet was good. But I just can’t get into the book for some reason. I’m not quite sure why that is. I really like the fact that the Shield is a soldier, not a superhero, and the suit is his weapon, nothing but a tool he uses. I like that we’re slowly being introduced to the other Impact/Archie characters, rather than just getting the thrown at us. I ALWAYS like it when Nazis get their asses handed to them. So why can I not get more excited about this book?

Booster Gold is an impotent hero. We know he’s always going to win. If a villain goes back in time, we know that somehow Booster will find a way to keep the timestream safe. Did you ever watch Quantum Leap? Did you see the episode where Sam leapt into Lee Harvey Oswald, and we went through this (I think) two-episode story where we think the purpose is to save JFK, but as it turns out, he was supposed to keep Jackie safe, which he did. But we know nothing…actually…happened. That’s what this book feels like. A lot of story with absolutely no payoff. The Blue Beetle back-ups have been nice, but this story seemed to end rather abruptly. Yay for Peacemaker, I guess. Let’s just nuke the hero.

Non DC/Marvel Books

I know I said that, so far, he’s not that great of a fit for the Justice Society, but I think Bill Willingham is doing a great job on Angel. He’s got the well-known characters down. I liked the flashback that explained Angel’s predicament. I always love Spike, so every time he opens his mouth, I’m entertained (that didn’t sound quite right). The back-up story was good, but I don’t think we know enough about Eddie Hope to care that he has a solo story.