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!

What You Should Have Read #47

Last Week’s Comic Book Awesomeness

Amazing Spider-Man #672 – Despite the absolute corniness of this issue, the script was extremely tight, as I’m becoming very accustomed to when I read this series. This story had what all the great Spider-Man stories have, Parker heart, Parker determination, and a great supporting cast. The quips were flying, and they weren’t just coming from Pete. MJ, the Thing and Kaine all got in some great lines. And although I took my first ever break from comics because of the infamous Clone Saga, I’ve really enjoyed Kaine’s story since his return. I assume he’s going to be the new Scarlet Spider that I’ve heard rumors about, and I’m interested to see where his story goes from here. Spider Island turned out to be a great event. Kudos to the whole team.

Amazing Spider-Man #673 – I swear, there wasn’t anything I disliked about this issue. Well, maybe I would have liked to see Mary Jane with spider powers for a bit longer. But taken from the beginning, we’ve got a wonderful homage to the cover of Amazing Spider-Man #50. I love cover homages, and this is a great one. I kind of wish Stefano Caselli would have acknowledged Romita’s cover, though. Isn’t that kind of standard in the industry? I loved all the nekkid jokes. “PANTS OVER HERE! We need pants for Hercules!” Nice. Jackal hinting at future plans. Pete and MJ sharing a couple of moments. Eddie Brock being a hero. Kaine leaving with a costume. Spidey getting respect from the common man…then from Jonah. Carlie’s reaction to realizing that Pete is Spider-Man. Spider-Man’s corny spell being voided. I seriously have not loved this series this much since David Micheline was writing it in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s. I’m getting so much enjoyment from reading it.

Avengers Academy #20 – I’ve thoroughly enjoyed Avengers Academy from the beginning. I’m a sucker for well-written teen super teams. This issue was a good wrap-up for the first “era” of this group of kids. Veil is gone, Speedball and Vance are gone (New Warriors reunion!), the Academy is now headquartered West Coast Avengers compound, and enrollment has been opened to ALL super kids who want training, not just kids who were screwed up by Osborn. I think I’m going to enjoy the next chapter in these kids’ story.

Avenging Spider-Man #1 – First of all, I’m going to talk about the art. I liked Joe Mad when he became a star with Uncanny X-Men. I did not stick around for Battle Chasers, but I did, unfortunately, read Ultimates 3, which featured his uninked artwork. It was pretty awful, so I wasn’t all that impressed when it was announced that he was providing the artwork for this series. But it’s a new Spidey team-up series, so I was going to dive in regardless of the art. I’m glad I did. It really fits the style that’s being used in Amazing Spider-Man, almost a combination of Humberto Ramos and Stefano Caselli, and that’s definitely not a bad thing. Now, let’s see if he can keep up a regular schedule. The writing by Zeb Wells was solid throughout the series, but it was the dialogue between Spidey and the Avengers that sold the issue for me.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 9 #3 – I’m not all that into licensed comic book properties. As much as I enjoy various TV shows and movies, I can’t seem to get into the continuing adventures in the comics. But Joss Whedon’s creations get a pretty good second life thanks to comics. While I haven’t been totally blown away by the Dollhouse or Firefly comics, I’m hooked on the Buffy and Angel adaptations. While I wasn’t totally thrilled with how Season 8 ended, that didn’t stop me from jumping into Season 9 with high hopes. Three issues in and I’m intrigued by where this new status quo will ultimately take the Scooby Gang.

Journey into Mystery #630 – Oh Volstagg, how I do love your stories. And I also love how you’re raising your children. Just because Hitler had a thing for Norse mythology, let’s not assume that any Norse myths wanted anything to do with him. I think I need to teach my kids how to say, “Death to Nazis!”

New Avengers #18 – Norman Osborn as written by Brian Michael Bendis is an incredible bad guy. He’s Lex Luther, but smarmier. Hmm, Oscorp = Lexcorp. Iron Patriot = Lex in his battle suit. Well, you get the idea. I like Norman’s new Dark Avengers, but I was a bit unsure about the new Wolverine. Was that Gorgon? He looked tinier.

Ultimate Spider-Man #4 – Dammit, Bendis! You brought up Parker’s funeral again, and with the little girl who asked if Aunt May was Spider-Man’s mommy? At least I didn’t tear up this time. But I like how Miles is being woven into Peter’s death. It works. It doesn’t feel forced. I also like how Bendis is pacing the new Spider-Man’s origin similarly to Peter’s when the Ultimate line was started.

Uncanny X-Men #1 – The first issue of X-Men: Schism must have been a fluke, because Carlos Pacheco absolutely killed it with this book. I don’t necessarily like the team or the attitude of the book, but the writing IS good and the pictures are purdy. Now, I think I need to read up on Mr. Sinister. The last time I saw him was…damn, when he released the Legacy virus? It’s been a while.

Wolverine and the X-Men #1 – If I have to choose between a serious X-Men book and one with a sense of humor, I’m going to pick the sense of humor one almost every time. With that in mind, I enjoyed the first issue of this book more than the first issue of the new Uncanny series. Well, as far as the writing goes. I’ll always choose Carlos Pacheco over Chris Bachalo. But yeah, where Pacheco killed on the art front in Uncanny, Jason Aaron nailed it here. I’ve been incredibly impressed with him since the latest solo Wolverine series started. He GETS the character, and I think he really gets this side of the X-Men. I like Toad as a janitor; I like the inclusion of Broo; I like the Danger Room being incorporated into the entire school (and the bathroom gag was great!), and I liked absolutely everybody’s characterization. The only thing I didn’t like was the inclusion of Kade Kilgore in the issue. I don’t like him. I think I made this clear in a Schism review. I had thought it would be a while before we would see these new villains again, give them time to really start something, but we’re hit with him a month after the split. But I guess having a kid fighting a bunch of kids is good for the story. I’ve got faith in Aaron, though, so I’ll be around for the long haul.

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 looming on the horizon. 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!

What You Should Have Read #42

Last Week’s Comic Book Awesomeness

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 9 #1 – Oh, I miss the show. The comic is great, but I really miss the show. I liked how Season 8 started, but I didn’t really care for how it ended. I hope I don’t feel the same way about Season 9, because I enjoyed the first issue.

Journey Into Mystery #627 – Loki’s not in this one, it’s all about Mephisto…and his showing here is just as good as his showing in the last issue of New Mutants. It’s a smart and cunning Mephisto. I like that. From the beginning, the opening text/recap page, it’s all about Mephisto and his involvement in Fear Itself. On one hand, I like to think that the inevitable confrontation between Mephisto and Loki will be epic, but it might be epic on a small scale…two powerful entities out-snarking one another.

New Avengers #16 – Hmm. Daredevil in the Avengers. Is he a full member now or an associate, one they call when his special talents are needed? He’s not on the cover for the next issue, so the question is valid. I like him. I like Bendis writing him. But is he really one of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes? Let’s see where this goes.

Ultimate Spider-Man #1 – I like Miles Morales. I like him and I like his family. He’s not Peter Parker and they aren’t Aunt May and Uncle Ben, but they’re good people and I like them. This is how you raise a Spider-Man. I hate that people are in an uproar about this. I hate that people are upset that this is a boy of color who becomes the new Spider-Man. I hate that there were ignorant people upset and didn’t understand a quote by artist Sara Pichelli and assumed the new Spider-Man was gay, and they had a problem with that. I understand that you’re introduced to a character and fall in love with him, but sometimes people die, and in this case, it was a fictional character named Peter Parker. This new kid isn’t Peter Parker, and he shouldn’t be Peter Parker. Peter Parker is dead. Deal with it. This kid has different powers and a different background. The origin, in general, is the same, but the results are different. That’s how it SHOULD be. If Brian Michael Bendis wanted to write more Peter Parker Spider-Man stories, he wouldn’t have killed Peter Parker. Now we get to read Miles Morales Spider-Man stories, and I’m perfectly fine with that. I trust Bendis to provide me with an entertaining and engaging story, and I so far haven’t been disappointed with this first issue. Also, Spider-Man’s uncle looks to be Deadpool.

Uncanny X-Force #15 – This is, by far, the best of the X-books at the moment. The action is there, the wit is there, and the art is there. It’s a good-looking book that is good to read. When this eventually ends, I would totally read a buddy team-up book featuring Deadpool and Phantomex.

DC’s New 52 Week 2

Deathstroke #1 – This must be the week of villainous books for me. I’ve never been a great fan of Deathstroke, but I’ve appreciated what he’s done and how he’s done it. There’s nothing here about the character that would keep me coming back to the book, but I’m curious as to what’s in the briefcase. I want to know if the eventual revelation will be a satisfying payoff.

Green Lantern #1 – Fuck DC and their reboot. Between this issue and Red Lanterns, what exactly was rebooted with the various Lanterns? I mean, I’ve been reading GL for quite a while now and I know what’s going on, but this was a not a new user friendly book. There’s SO much backstory that needs to be known. And from what I’ve seen and read, the Batman line is doing similar shenanigans. If you’re going to reboot, reboot. Push the button and start everything over. Now, that being said, I enjoyed this book and how it continued the story from before the “reboot.”

Red Lanterns #1 – I’m not totally sure this is a necessary title. This seems like mini-series material to me. It was good, but I don’t know if it presented enough…foresight?...to warrant a full series. I like the stuff with Atrocitus and the rest of his Red Lanterns, but the Earthbound stuff seems shoehorned in.

Resurrection Man #1 – I didn’t read this book the first time around. I ended up picking up the entire series on Ebay for cheap about 7 years or so ago. I remember thoroughly enjoying it, so I was interested to see what would happen here. I’m glad Mitch is back, and I’m really interested in seeing all the stories Abnett and Lanning came come up with using this wonderful premise.

Suicide Squad #1 – Great first issue. We meet the team, we see a bit of action, and we’re left looking forward to these six secret villains tasked to killing 60,000 people. I really miss Gail Simone’s Secret Six, especially after Batgirl #1, which I did not like, but judging from the first issue, I think I’m going to like this new Suicide Squad. And I’m really happy they kept on King Shark.

Superboy #1 – Well, this was a surprise. At it’s most basic level, the premise of Superboy is exactly the same as the original premise for Connor Kent. Replace Cadmus (who is apparently pretty active in the New 52) with N.O.W.H.E.R.E. and you’ve got a different character made up of the same building blocks. I like where this is going. I’m going to read more of this book. 

Probably for the rest of the month 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 it 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 my experiment this weekend proved to me that I actually AM making a spot of cash whenever the ads are clicked. So I’m going to put this little disclaimer on the bottom of all my posts for the next month or so, and I hope you’ll take an extra 10 seconds after reading my blog to click on an ad. Thanks so much!

What You Should Have Watched #8

Late to the Party

Thanks to the wonder of Netflix, I’ve started watching the current Doctor Who series. After a bit of a slow first season (it happens, a show has to find its footing, right?), I’ve really grown to enjoy it. While I liked Christopher Eccleston (liked him better in Heroes), David Tennant just feels more natural. The sarcasm, the humor, the bits of anger…they all seem to flow a bit easier from Tennant than they did Eccleston. I also grew to like Billie Piper’s Rose more. She ended up seeming like a player in this game rather than somebody who was just along for a ride.

But this post isn’t about Doctor Who. It’s about shows that I got into late in the game. The most memorable ones for me are Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel. Those weren’t even shows somebody recommended to me.

While I was in college in Cookeville, TN, the rest of my family lived in southern Indiana. Their cable provider decided to stop carrying The WB, thus preventing my sister from watching Buffy and Angel. Being the generous and giving brother that I am, I told her I’d record the show and mail her the tapes when they were full. This was 12 or 13 years ago, before torrents or complete seasons of shows being quickly released on DVD.

One night after work, I came back to my apartment, ready to relax in my room, but I had nothing to relax with. So I rewound the tape I had just recorded, and I was introduced to the Joss Whedon and the Buffy-verse via the season four Halloween episode entitled “Fear Itself.” Action, humor, hot girls, tiny demons…yeah, I quickly fell in love with the show. Angel was next, and I became a Whedon convert.

My problem with this show, though, was that there was no way to catch up on the three seasons I had missed. FX ended up rerunning the show from the beginning a couple years later and I was able to quickly catch up, but it’s not as easy as it is today.

Recently, on the advice of a few good friends, I’ve started picking up new shows. I started White Collar and Burn Notice with the most recent season, catching up thanks to OnDemand. Within the past few months I’ve started watching Parks and Recreation, Raising Hope and Doctor Who. I’ve used Netflix and Hulu Plus to catch up on everything I’ve missed (I’m just finishing up with season two of Doctor Who, and I’m hoping to fully catch up before the current season ends).

I’ve been a TV addict for WAY too many years. The choices that viewers have now are incredible. I very rare, if ever, watch a show live anymore. My DVR is almost constantly 70% or more full. My DVR allows me to record only two shows at a time. If I want to watch a third show, I’ve got Hulu, OnDemand or the show’s network’s website on which to watch it. This is TV heaven for me.

It’s because of opportunities like these that I’m okay with waiting until the end of a season to catch up on shows like Mad Men or The Killing, or waiting even longer for premium shows like Weeds or Dexter. And soon enough, more likely when Hulu Plus has more options available for the Xbox, I’ll be getting rid of cable all together and rely solely on the Internet and Xbox, watching stuff when and where I want.

And as a quick note, here are some shows I got into after they started and ended up really enjoying:

• Buffy the Vampire Slayer
• Angel
• Alias
• The Office
• Parks and Recreation
• Burn Notice
• Doctor Who
• White Collar
• Weeds
• Seinfeld
• Arrested Development
• Babylon 5
• Deadwood
• The Wire