What You Should Have Read #66

Comic Books Released Sept. 12, 2012

THERE WILL BE SPOILERS, SO PROCEED WITH CAUTION!!

Avengers Assemble #7 - First off, I'm dropping this title as soon as Bendis and Bagley wrap up their run. Bendis has not been wowing me with his Avengers work since AvX started. Marvel NOW, rather than serving as a jumping-on point, is providing me with a number of options for shorting my hold list. This series has been better than Avengers or New Avengers, but not by much. I think Bendis is leaving the franchise at just the right time, if not a bit late. There was a lot of ambiguity in the issue, and things just happening. None of the normal human Avengers died in the vacuum of space. Thanos used a cosmic cube to "destroy" cosmic beings then apparently became "reality." I did enjoy the art, though. Bagley's work is reliably pleasing.

Avengers vs. X-Men #11 - I had hopes for this series. High hopes. With the lackluster beginning, I was hoping it would end strong. My hopes were bolstered with a somewhat more engaging middle, but now, nope. Although it reads like two characters COULD have died, only one actually did. And you know what? Big whoop. Seriously, Professor X has been redundant for quite some time, at least as long as the mutants moved to Utopia, probably longer. He has no allegiance to Wolverine's "side" or Cyclops' "side." He no longer teaches or leads mutants. He's not fighting for tolerance or mutant rights. Hell, except for that Legion story a while back, I can't even remember the last time he showed up in a book. Sure, he's Scott's father figure, but even that's something that's been put on the back burner since at least Schism. The only way this would carry any weight for me is if there would have been a build-up sprinkled throughout AvX at least and ideally through some of the X-books. As it stands, the dude just falls down. Hell, I had to read the "AvX Commentary Track" on Comic Book Resources to confirm that he actually WAS dead. Other than Wolverine telling Hulk to throw him, there is no reaction other than people just standing around. Hell, Magneto being taken down got more of a reaction than Charlie's death. And really, how many times has Xavier been killed? And is it actually possible to kill one of the greatest telepaths in the Marvel Universe? Dollars to donuts he's alive somewhere on the astral plane, just waiting for the next big X-Men crossover to happen so he can return. So no, I don't like. It's cheap, it's easy, and really, it's sloppy.

Batman #0 - As much as I'm loving Snyder and Capullo's Batman, I think the gem of this issue was the back-up. It starts out as the "origin" of the Bat Signal, but we're also treated to a brief glimpse into the pasts of Tim, Jason and Dick...and it all comes back to the Bat Signal. I did like the main story, but I was a bit taken aback by Bruce's non-reaction to the death of the bank employees. I thought he'd at least berate himself a bit when he got back "home." Nope. Just more dead people in Gotham. Other than that, though, good script by Snyder and good-looking art by Capullo. Can't wait to see where the Red Hood Gang pops up after (or during?) the upcoming Joker story.

Journey into Mystery #643 - So, what do you really think is going on here? Is Loki back to his evil ways, or is this another scheme within a scheme within a scheme? Regardless of the answer to the former, I'm sure latter is still true. Whatever the reasoning and whatever the outcome, I'm ready to end my close association with the Asgardians. It was a fun and surprising run, something I never thought I'd buy regularly, but my interest is starting to wane, despite the best efforts of Mr. Gillen.

New Avengers #30 - Although Iron Fist was nowhere to be seen in this comic (remember when the covers teased a scene from the comic? A plot point? I miss those days), this was a passable tie-in to AvX. And really, it had as much to do with the main AvX story as this week's Wolverine and the X-Men. The ending was pretty predictable, and truthfully it was a long time coming. I'm okay with Luke quitting the Avengers and focusing on his family. What does a man with indestructible skin do after something like this, though? Private security? Security guard? Is he actually qualified to do anything? If Avengers Academy were still open I'd think he would make a good teacher. It'll be interesting to see where Luke goes from here.

Shade #12 - This was an extremely verbose issue, but it did the one thing I've wanted since I started reading Starman, but I didn't think we'd get it with this limited series: The Shade's origin. This was a good story for those whose introduction to the Shade was this series. For those of us who consider Starman the best thing they've ever read, there were some great nods to the series. Charles Dickens. Culp. Piers Ludlow. Had Deathstroke not been included in the beginning of this series, I'd assume this was set in the pre-New 52 DC universe. As it stands, I don't see how it can be in DC's new continuity. The JSA never existed, so Jack Knight's legacy wasn't there. Don't care, though. It was a great series, and I hope we see some more in the future. We need to learn about Scathach. My only problem with the issue was the Shade's journal entries. Maybe it was just me, but the script was difficult to read. With the amount of writing on the page, though, I don't think any attempt at making it slightly more readable would have worked. It would have covered up too much of Gene Ha's beautiful artwork.

Uncanny X-Force #31 - This is by far my favorite incarnation of X-Force, and I've been around since the beginning. I really came down on Betty's side with this issue. Why not kill Daken? Just 'cause he's Wolverine's son? What is different about his situation? Like she said, they're ready to kill Evan because of what he MIGHT do, but Daken roams free despite all he's already done. Wolverine doesn't even like him, right? Doesn't think there's any chance of rehabilitation?

Wolverine and the X-Men #16 - This is a very loose tie-in issue to AvX, but that doesn't mean it's a bad issue. In fact, that might make it better. Killgore's takeover of the Hellfire Club is explained, and as much as I disliked the little tyke and his gang when they were first introduced, I enjoyed the story. A lot. I liked Emma and Scott's reaction to how evil the kids really are. I liked the prison break. I liked Killgore's origin. Yup, that means I liked the book.

What You Should Have Read #65

Comic Book Reviews

for the Week of June 20, 2012

This week’s issue of Avengers vs. X-Men is the best I’ve read so far. There’s enough dialogue to make this last more than a couple of minutes, and there’s a lot going on. I thought the hunt for Hope was pretty stupid. Leave Hope to Scott, and if you’re worried about the Phoenix, send your people to try and take care of it (which, yeah, that happened, but the whole Utopia strike team thing was ridiculous). It’s good to see the Iron Fist plot from New Avengers finally being brought into the main book. It didn’t clear anything up, but it’s good that those ideas are here. I’m enjoying the new art from Olivier Coipel. I have no problems with John Romita, Jr., but I find that his work doesn’t flow all that well. His panels look more like tiny pin-ups. Coipel is much easier to flip through. I knew the ending of this issue was going to happen, but I wasn’t planning on Cyclops being the one to utter the words. I was expecting it’d be Scarlet Witch. After spending the previous five issues wondering how disappointed I was going to be at the end of the crossover, I find myself a little excited to see where this is going to go.

This was my first issue of Avenging Spider-Man, and I picked it up because it was the “Ends of the Earth” epilogue. It was bad, but I don’t think it was really necessary as an end cap. Except for the beginning and ending bookends, the story is a flashback where Spidey recounts a previously untold adventure with Silver Sable who, despite the lack of a body (also no Rhino body), is in fact dead. Never mind the fact that Sabra and Kangaroo also apparently bought it while helping out Spidey. Sable was a friend; the other two were just random international characters that were easy cannon fodder. There was one thing about this issue that made me sad. An editorial box said that this took place after Web of Spider-Man #72. I had that issue! Anyways, Spidey tells Sable and Strange that he can’t get married because he has a girlfriend. Web took place well after Pete and MJ got married, so why didn’t he say he was already married? Because that was scrubbed. It made me sad when I realized Pete and MJ never got married. It was a great nod to current continuity, though. There was also a member of the Wild Pack. Yay ‘90s!

Not a single member of the Dark Avengers appeared in the Dark Avengers this issue. Not a problem, though, because the issue was awesome. We finally find out why the Thunderbolts have been bouncing through time. There’s a wonderful guest star that is firmly rooted in current continuity. The story looks like it wraps up rather quickly, but I think the issue flows wonderfully. The whole thing centers around the Man-Thing, and this new version of him/it is terrific. I’d really rather read more stories about this team than the new team, the Dark Avengers. Of course, I have faith in writer Jeff Parker to flesh out this new team and get me to care about what happens to them.

Truth be told, I was a smidge disappointed in this week’s Invincible Iron Man. Stane was taken out like the chump he is. The hostage situation made absolutely no sense. Why didn’t Justine have her soldiers take out Doug from a distance? A good sniper with a head shot would be able to take him out with no harm to Sasha, correct? And Spymaster took the easy way out? Really? Still, the art by Salvador Larroca was as great as always, and the dialogue flowed wonderfully, but I can’t get behind the actual plot…except for the Tony/Bethany/Rhody stuff. I was totally okay with everything that happened there. Despite my disappointment, I do like that I have no idea where writer Matt Fraction is going with the story. I like to be surprised.

The best part of this week’s Journey into Mystery was the recap by King Arthur. I thought the bit in the club with Hellstrom was rather pointless, since we don’t see him actually doing the job that Loki tasked him with. Loki could have just mentioned his plan to Leah, and we would have gotten a bit more of their excellent back-and-forth. Of course, then we wouldn’t have learned about the Trashcan of Doom. I hope that comes into play by the end of the storyline.

Ah, finally an issue of New Avengers that isn’t utter crap! Sure, it’s still all about the Phoenix’s connection with K’un Lun, which isn’t explained, but we do get to see a red-headed Iron Fist who becomes the Phoenix. Also, this issue also actually has two members of the New Avengers in it, and it’s Spidey who brings the issue home. I love Hope’s skepticism at her reason for being at K’un Lun and her complete and utter turnaround once Spidey gives his speech. Granted, it’s a speech he’s given to himself plenty of times, but it’s a wonder when we get to see someone else’s reaction. So, yeah, great bit of story. And the art? Wonderful. When he first started out, I was not a fan of Mike Deodato. Not at all. But now, his work is art, not just lines on paper.

I’m giving X-Factor a second read because it was late when I started reading it and I really had to work at staying awake. That’s not a comment on Peter David’s writing. I was just really, really tired. Hell, I didn’t even notice that Jamie and Guido were talking over Longshot, who was laid out on a slab. While the last issue set up Rahne’s big journey, this issue set everybody’s new arc in motion. Rahne takes off with Rictor and Shatterstar to look for her abandoned son. Banshee and Havok head to Ulster, NY to see why it looks like Theresa is killing people. Maddrox continues investigating Far Sight’s death…right after he has a roll with Layla. And Lorna and Monet wait for Longshot to wake up. They have the easiest job. There was no action at all in this issue, but that’s par for the course with set-up issues. That doesn’t mean it wasn’t a meaty issue. Dan Slott should be very happy with it. I know I was…on the second reading…when I was awake and alert.

My back issue purchases were Amazing Spider-Man #s 655 and 656.

Here are my planned purchases for next week:

Amazing Spider-Man #688

Spider-Men #2

Wolverine and the X-Men #12

What a gloriously tiny week. That makes up for the Ultimate Spider-Man Omnibus that I pre-ordered a month or so ago and received earlier this week.

And if I can make a little gripe, DC also has the Infinite Crisis Omnibus HC solicited for next week. I’m not going to get it, but I wanted to check out what was included in it to make it an omnibus edition. The main mini itself wasn’t going to be big enough. Sure enough, it includes ALL of the Infinite Crisis minis…except the main one. If your book is called the Infinite Crisis Omnibus HC, shouldn’t you have the main series included in it? Or title it something slightly different?

If my LCS gets a Locke & Key Card Game in, I’ll buy it. That’s somewhat of an empty promise, though, because I’m 95% sure they didn’t order one “just in case.”

What You Should Have Read #64

Comic Book Reviews 

for the Week of June 13, 2012

I thought this week’s issue of Amazing Spider-Man was a good ending to the “Ends of the Earth” storyline. We got some good scenes with Mysterio. The Rhino with nothing to live for was truly a man to be afraid of. Doc Ock, as always, was defeated by his own hubris. Two things stuck with me, though. First, the Rhino. When did the Rhino stop being stupid? He was always just muscle that screwed everything up. He wasn’t a joke because he was so powerful, but I always got the impression that he could barely string two thoughts together. He was always a lackey, and his Russian background was either forgotten or ignored. Then, after Brand New Day, he’s VERY Russian and seems to be of average intelligence. What happened? I hit up Wikipedia, and it mentioned a Tangled Web story where he regained his intelligence but ended up having it taken away because it ultimately bored him. So really, what happened? The other thing had to do with the ending. Who exactly was Spidey upset about? He said, “Someone died.” By my count, there are four characters who might have died during this storyline: two from the Ends of the Earth one-shot and two from this issue. I guess that’ll be explained in next week’s issue of Avenging Spider-Man.

There is very little I’m enjoying about the Avengers side of the “Avengers vs. X-Men” crossover. This week’s issue of Avengers did nothing to change that. My complaints against focusing on Noh-Varr remain: nothing has been done with him to get us to care about him. Now he’s not allowed back on Earth. Big whoop. Also, why was he accepted so easily by the Kree? He’s not from this universe. I really liked Grant Morrison’s Marvel Boy mini, but the character has just been absorbed into continuity and left to grow stale. I’ll not shed a tear if we never see Noh-Varr/Marvel Boy/Protector again.

On to Avengers Assemble, which I AM enjoying. Maybe I’ve just got a soft spot in my heart for Bendis/Bagley collaborations. Although I don’t necessarily like WHY this specific team of Avengers has their own book, I am enjoying the story. My biggest gripe with this issue specifically ties into this week’s Amazing Spider-Man. In it, Thor, whose mind was being controlled by Doc Ock, could no longer lift his hammer. But in this issue, Hulk, whose mind was being controlled by Thanos, COULD lift Thor’s hammer. Bit of a continuity gaffe there, considering I don’t think Hulk has lifted Mjolnir even in his right mind.

There’s not much I can say about this week’s Batman without spoiling something that probably shouldn’t be spoiled if you haven’t read the issue yet. Personally, I loved it, but I can understand how long-time Batman fans might be put off a bit. This is a BIG thing, and I think Snyder is doing a wonderful job at making this Batman his own. He’s also done a great job of pulling his version of Owlman over into DC’s new continuity. I can’t wait to see how this ends next month. I ended up getting the regular cover for this issue, but I thought long and hard about picking up the Rafael Albuquerque variant. With as much as I’m loving this book, though, I’ve decided that it’s good enough to warrant me buying a copy of each cover in the future, as long as the variant is being sold for cover price.

I’m enjoying Robinson’s Earth 2, but I’m LOVING The Shade. It’s not a superhero book, although there are powers and “good” vs. “evil.” It’s not necessarily an origin book, although we are learning things about the Shade’s past. What this IS is a great story. It’s a great character on a quest. This is also Robinson at his best. Like I said, I’m enjoying Earth 2, and I really think it’ll get even better as the book goes on, but that’s a book that HAS to have some high-adrenaline action to keep it moving. Not so with The Shade. It’s a bit of a wordy book, but that’s perfectly alright. The words draw you into the wonderful pictures that adorn each issue. This issue had wonderful artwork by Frazer Irving. The faces are full of expression, the backgrounds are wonderfully textured, and the pages are expertly set up. I did have to go back to see if we’ve seen Dudley before, because it seems like we should know him, but I guess not. It just seems as if this is the Caldecott that’s gone after the Shade. I can’t wait to see WHY ol’ Dickie was targeted by his…great great grandson? I also bought both versions of this book, the Tony Harris cover and the Frazer Irving cover. If I can buy a variant cover for regular cover price, I’ll usually go that route unless I just really like the regular cover better. But in some instances, I want to lend as much support as possible to a book, so I’ll buy the regular cover AND the variants. I want the Shade to get another limited series after this, so I’ll buy all the covers as long as my LCS makes them available for cover price.

The comic I was most looking forward to this week was Spider-Men, and it didn’t disappoint. I never thought there needed to be a crossover between the 616 Marvel Universe and the Ultimate Marvel Universe, but so far I like what little interaction we’ve had with the 616 Spidey in the Ultimate New York. Bendis is a great Spider-Man writer, and I bet I wouldn’t have enjoyed his run on the Avengers titles as much had Spidey not been included, and now he’s finally getting his chance to write a solo 616 Web-Slinger story. The biggest question for me to come out of this issue is how long Mysterio has known about the Ultimate Universe (and tangentially, when this takes place in relation to “Ends of the Earth”). The best thing about the issue was the short interaction between Peter and the mugging victim he rescued. Bendis was able to get his “poor taste” running gag in the issue, and that was a gag I’ve loved in the new Ultimate Spider-Man book. Is it wrong that I want the next issue to consist of nothing but 9-panel pages of Pete and Miles talking with each other?

Ennis is really cleaning house with this last storyline in The Boys. Two of the team’s supporters are now gone, either directly or indirectly dispatched by Butcher. Hughie and MM are starting to piece together that Butcher has finally cracked and that some superpowered shit is hitting an incredibly massive fan. This isn’t shaping up to be a happy ending for anybody.

There’s a LOT of stuff going on in Uncanny X-Force. You’ve got two separate people after Fantomex, and I think it might be safe to say that they aren’t working together. Nightcrawler and Wolverine have been brought down by clones of Omega Red, and Wade, well, Wade has some fun with homemade assassin program at White Sky. Then you’ve got some X-kids on a field trip in Genosha, and it looks like they’re being tailed by Sabertooth. Also, Kitty’s father was in Genosha when the Sentinels destroyed it? Why? And it looks like Amahl Farouk is still alive and kicking, and I’d like to see that explained. I was under the impression that that body of the Shadow King was dead and gone. Also, bonus points for the Arrested Development reference. That’s quite a bit to absorb, but it’s still less confusing that the Otherworld adventure from a few issues ago.

My back issue buys this week were Amazing Spider-Man #s 661 and 662.

It looks like next week is an all Marvel week for me:

Avengers vs. X-Men #6

Dark Avengers #176

Invincible Iron Man #519

Journey into Mystery #640

New Avengers #27

X-Factor #238

And now for something a little different. I subscribe to a daily emailer called Daily Steal. They usually have some damn fine deals, although I haven’t bought much at all from them. A couple of weeks ago, though, they had a listing for some comic books. The pitch was 50-65 comics plus a handful of trading cards with a total value of $500…for only $29.95! Plus, it was Free Shipping Friday! Now, they had some stock pictures of various ‘90s comics (the only one that I can recall was Superman #75), so I knew not to expect much, but I was curious as to what this site thought $500 worth of comic books looked like. And, worst comes to worst, I bought a bunch of comics for $.60/book.

Here are my unbox videos from this purchase. Don’t expect this to ever happen again, because I generally don’t like these types of videos, but I wanted this experience recorded for posterity. And spoiler, there was nowhere near $500 worth of comics in this badly packaged box. Every single issue included would be lucky to find itself in a quarter bin at any reputable comic shop.

Also, huge apologies for the bad synching between the audio and the video. I have no idea how that happened.

What You Should Have Read #63

Comic Book Reviews 

for the Week of June 6, 2012

Quick thoughts so I can play a bit of catch up.

Avengers vs. X-Men #5 – No. No no no. This is Marvel’s new go-to plot point in events? Give everybody the same power? Hulked Out Heroes. Fear Itself. Spider Island. Now there’s a handful of Phoenixes? No no no.

Dark Avengers #175 – I get why Thunderbolts was retitled, because all the team members are former members of Osborn’s Dark Avengers, but are we to believe that this is going to last? Regardless, it’s still the Thunderbolts program. Meh, in the long run the title doesn’t matter. It’s still a good comic book, and there’s a lot going on in this issue, a lot of good stuff.

Earth 2 #2 – Alan Scott is gay. Doesn’t affect my enjoyment of the title at all, so that’s all I’ll say about that issue. As for the rest of the comic, good stuff. I liked the Flash stuff, although the dialogue was a bit hokey. My favorite part was the Mr. Terrific/Terry Sloane confrontation. I might want to go back and read his latest series.

Invincible Iron Man #518 – Good, solid issue. Lots going on with Rhodey and the new armor, Stane and Mandarin, Stark and his rehab, Spymaster and Mrs. Arbogast, and whatever the hell is going on with Detroit Steel.

Journey into Mystery #639 – The Loki stuff, as always, was excellent. The Captain Britain stuff and the Manchester god thing were confusing as hell, though. So Otherworld went through this war in Uncanny X-Force, and now they’re fighting another one here? These guys just can’t catch a break.

Secret #2 – I don’t know what to think about this yet. I’ve learned, though, that Hickman plays the long game, so I’m assuming there’s going to be a good payoff, but right now it’s a slow start.

Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #11 – So, the Scorpion’s a tough son of a bitch. What excited me, though, was the cliffhanger with Aunt May. Pete had such a great supporting cast with May, Gwen, MJ, Kong, etc., and I’m not feeling that with Miles yet.

X-Factor #237 – What a wonderful done-in-one story. It’s a done-in-one story that brings up a past plot line and sets up a future story. Peter David is awesome.

My back-issue purchases for the week were Amazing Spider-Man #s 663 and 667.

Next week (or this week, actually), I’m planning on getting:

Batman #10

Shade #9

Boys #67

Amazing Spider-Man #687

Avengers #27

Avengers Assemble #4

Spider-Men #1

Uncanny X-Force #26

What You Should Have Read #62

Comic Book Reviews 

for the Week of May 30, 2012

I was thoroughly disappointed with the Amazing Spider-Man annual. It wasn’t badly written and the art was fine. I just don’t think it was a tale that needed to be told. How many times has Peter already been through the “It’s a Wonderful Life” story? Is this a story that needs to be told over and over again? And the twist is that everybody’s life actually IS better without him? That’s awful. Dan Slott is wrapping up “Ends of the Earth” in a couple of weeks. I would have thought this would have been a great opportunity to end the story on a grand scale and almost guarantee better sales numbers for the annual.

Now, Batman Annual #1 was the way to do an annual. It loosely tied into the story running through all the Bat-family books. Mr. Freeze got an updated origin, and I’m not 100% sure what the differences are between this origin and his last one. I wasn’t a fan of the Bat-books before I checked out Scott Snyder’s new series. He seems relatively close to the Freeze from Batman: The Animated Series, which is the version of Batman I know best. Close, but a bit more badass. THIS is how you do an annual. Regular writer, “new” character, current storyline tie-in…I’m glad I started picking up this title.

I finally got around to picking up DC’s Free Comic Book Day offering, and I liked it for the most part. I enjoyed the new origins of three classic but seldom used DC characters (I fully believe that Pandora is supposed to be the Crimson Avenger, so I’m counter her as a classic character), although the Question gave me pause. I always thought part of his charm or allure was that he was just a regular guy. This new origin is vastly different. And it looks like we’re getting a definitive origin for the Phantom Stranger, and it borrows a bit from one of the origins Alan Moore gave him (assuming I’m right in saying that the Stranger is Judas). We also get a look at seven wizards with lightning bolts on them. These guys HAVE to play a part in the creation of the new Shazam/Captain Marvel. I also enjoyed looking around the Black Room. A buddy and I noted the Haunted Tank, the Psycho Pirate’s mask, something that might be the helmet of Big Barda or another New God, the Demon’s armor, the Spear of Destiny, and something that I’m hoping is either the Painting that Ate Paris or the demonic poster from James Robinson’s Starman series. It looks like the new DC universe is going to be a very interesting place.

The ending to “Exiled” in this week’s New Mutants was very satisfying. Although this did seem more like an Asgardian book than a mutant book. The Disir were given a logical new purpose. Mephisto and Loki are at odds again. All of the Asgardians have their memories back. And Sigurd ran away again, although his reprieve was short indeed. I was happy enough reading about these “new” mutants during the crossover, but it looks like my time with them has ended.

The biggest problem I had with Wolverine & the X-Men was the lack of continuity between this issue and Avengers vs. X-Men #4. In that comic, Wolverine told Hope that he called Captain America while she was sleeping in the back of the jet. Here, though, he calls Cap after they’ve been attacked by and defeated an assassin squad of Shi’ar death commandos. That’s not a tiny gaffe. Other than that, though, the issue worked for me. Art and story were top notch, and it still remains my favorite X-Men book (but X-Factor is my favorite mutant book).

My back issue purchases this week were Amazing Spider-Man #s 669 and 670. I also picked up the DC/Cartoon Network FCBD issue for my son. He’s really getting into Young Justice, so he loved the issue.

Nextweek’s planned purchases:

Earth 2 #2

Boys #67

Secret #2

Avengers vs. X-Men #5

Dark Avengers #175

Invincible Iron Man #518

Journey into Mystery #639

Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #11

X-Factor #237

What You Should Have Read #60

Comic Book Reviews for the Week of May 16, 2012

Big week this week. Almost too big. So big that I decided not to get the Fantastic Four Point One issue that I had planned on getting.

Also, spoilers, because it’s hard to have a spoiler-free discussion.

I thought the Ends of the Earth one-shot was pointless. I kind of wish I would have flipped through it before just buying it sight unseen. Spidey recruits some international heroes to thwart Doc Ock’s plans in their respective countries, but personally, I would have been fine with this all happening between the panels of the regular ASM comic. If you read the most recent issue of Amazing Spider-Man, you know that ONE of these international heroes died. This comic was a smidge vague. I assume both Kangroo and Sabra were killed by Lady Deathstrike and Crossbones, but there’s no confirmation. Sure, Lady D slashes Kangaroo in the midsection and we see some decent blood spatter, but that’s it. And it sure looks like Crossbones hit Sabra with a headshot, but all we see is her face-down in a bit of blood. Out of the two ambiguous deaths, I’d say hers is the least ambiguous.

I hated Walt Simonson’s artwork in the previous issue, and his work in Avengers #26 is only marginally better. The stuff with Noh-Varr was pointless. He was character that Bendis did nothing with other than give him a new identity and a girlfriend. He wasn’t fleshed out at all, and he’s on my deadpool as the guy to get whacked in this crossover. He was great in Grant Morrison’s Marvel Boy mini-series, and he was decent in the Secret Invasion crossover. Since then, though, he’s been pretty useless. I also don’t understand why he’s so loyal to the Kree. These aren’t his Kree. He’s from an alternate dimension/universe. I really think Bendis is dropping the ball with the crossover issues in both this title and New Avengers.

So far this was my favorite issue of the mini-series. From the opening with Wolverine wearing a polar bear (not a polar bear pelt, but the whole damn animal), to the end with Thor crashing to the moon and the Phoenix showing up, it was all pretty solid. I like that they didn’t draw out the Phoenix’s arrival. With such a big thing happening so early in the series, I’m really interested in seeing how this is going to play out. The Thor stuff doesn’t quite line up with what happened in Avengers #26 this week, so it looks like we’ve got to wait another week to see how that ended. He WAS the only one to return to Earth (the Moon) though. I was okay with Wolverine duping Hope, but I’m wondering why he didn’t just try and end her right there. Scared? I don’t need to read Versus to know how the fights turn out. I don’t really care. I thought the first issue was poorly thought out, and I’m okay with just seeing a couple panels for the fights. I’m enjoying John Romita, Jr.’s artwork, but I think Colossunaut looks stupid. I don’t have a problem with the Peter possessing the power or anything like that, I just think is a cumbersome look, and that isn’t JRJr.’s fault.

Did anyone really believe Tony was going to quit being Iron Man? Nope, didn’t think so. Although solicits for this issue touted a new man in the armor, I don’t think the identity was much of a surprise, especially if you’ve seen the cover for the next issue. Flip to the back of this issue and you get the cover for the next issue. The suit is black and silver/gray. The suit has a ghost mode. The suit…well, other than it looking very Tron-ish, there’s nothing else that might betray the wearer’s identity, but c’mon, it HAD to be Rhodey. Fraction is doing his part to rehash (in a good way, I’m truly loving the series) old storylines. Tony loses his company. Tony gets drunk. Tony isn’t Iron Man anymore. It’s his greatest hits. So who subbed for Tony before, had a suit of his own that was black and silver/gray, and who’s latest suit had a ghost mode that was heavily used? James Rhodes, War Machine, of course. The same James Rhodes who was fake killed…last issue? So the last page shouldn’t have been a surprise to anybody. Rehashing or not, like I said, I’m still loving the book. I loved Tony’s scenes with the extraction of his current armor and the revelation of his latest armor. I loved Stane’s determination and the flashbacks of both men. I loved the Spymaster stuff and how Cabe was such a badass. The only thing that threw me for a loop were the Detroit Steel pages. It looked like some sexual roleplay gone wrong. I guess we’ll learn more about that later.

The end for the series of Locke and Key series is quickly coming to an end. I have yet to read a bad issue. Hell, one of them made me cry. In the last issue of the Clockworks mini, we get the resolution to Rendell and Dodge’s (and their best buds’) adventures with the keys. It satisfying, and it does a good job of setting up the final mini-series. Man, I HATE that the pilot didn’t get picked up by FX. If anybody reading this has run across a copy of it (or, if maybe Joe Hill is reading this and wants to drop a brother a tweet?), I’d love to see it.

I won’t lie, this is not a normal book for me. I got it only because of the crossover with Journey into Mystery. I probably won’t continue to get the book after the crossover ends, but I was not unhappy with having to purchase this issue. As crossovers go, it’s working well for me. It’s pulling on threads exposed earlier in Journey into Mystery, and the tie-in with New Mutants is logical what with them having a Valkyrie and some sort of Hel dog in their group. I also like that the writers of both series are noted in the credits. Just because Gillen writes JiM and not NM doesn’t mean he doesn’t have a bunch of input on what’s going on in this title, and vice versa. Also, even though Thor is in this, this could KIND OF be an unofficial AVX crossover. Kind of. Also also, the ending caught me by surprise. I like it when that happens.

I guess I’m okay with the way Thunderbolts ended. I haven’t been reading the title for the last 174 issues, only since Warren Ellis took over the writing chores. I think it’s because of that that I didn’t really have any feelings for the Fixer’s fate one way or the other. I mean, it sucks what happened, but dude brought it on himself. At least he had the wherewithal to man up and take one for the team. I’m more interested in seeing how this is going to transition into Dark Avengers. I like the idea of a dark Avengers team, and while I liked Osborn’s original team more than the most recent iteration, I’m interested in seeing where Jeff Parker is going to take the team and how quickly he’ll be able to get rid of Clor. Seriously, get rid of that shit.

One of the highlights of James Robinson’s Starman was the Times Past issues. The fact that he’s bringing the concept over to The Shade is a treat. This series is slightly odd. We’re learning so much about the Shade’s history, but as of yet we still haven’t learned how he got his powers, and I don’t think we will. Despite the murder and demonic possession, this was actually a sweet comic. The Shade meets his grandson and sees his wife one last time. There wasn’t much action, but I find that Robinson doesn’t really excel at that. His forte is history and storytelling. The thing I’m wondering most about this series is how it fits in to DC’s New 52. Although the Knight family hasn’t been mentioned, it seems like everything that we know about the Shade from that series is still in continuity. But there is absolutely no way the Knight legacy can still exist. If I understand the new continuity correctly (and the only two series I’m reading are Batman and The Shade, so I could be totally wrong with this), but Superman was the first superhero to show up, right? So there were no mystery men during World War II? So Ted Knight wasn’t Starman, and there is no Starman legacy. I don’t know, I’m just confused. In my mind, it’s all good though because I can enjoy all of those stories regardless of current continuity. But, if there’s a chance Mr. Robinson is reading this (‘cause imma tag you on Twitter, yo), please please PLEASE explain how the Shade and the Knights fit into The New 52.

Wow. X-Factor was kind of depressing, and Shatterstar and Madrox were almost useless. I mean, sure, Shatterstar saved the day and killed the bad guy, but how many innocents were killed first, some of them while Shatterstar was RIGHT THERE? I’m not 100% familiar with X-Factor’s recent history. I originally started reading the title when Peter David first came on board in the ‘90s, and I was pleased. I stopped reading it when I stopped reading all X-books, right in the middle of the Phalanx Covenant. I got back in when the current series was renumbered starting with issue #200. I need to go back and get the David issues that I missed. Anyways, all that to say…is that Mr. Tryp manipulating Far Sight? I’ve only seen him when Jamie was bouncing around the alternate timelines, and I have no idea who he is or what he can do. Like I said, I’ve got some back issues to find.

My two back issues for this week were, Ultimate Spider-Man #s 158 and 159, and I picked up a small packet of Justice League Adventures comics, issues 4, 6 and 8, for my son. He was happy.

Here’s my list for next week:

Fables #117

Amazing Spider-Man #686

Journey into Mystery #638

Oh thank God this is a small week. The past two were horrible. Hmm, that’s going to make for a small blog entry. At least I should be able to get it posted at a reasonable time. Grr.