Avengers Academy #19
– I really like well-written teen heroes. I liked the earlier issues of the
most recent Teen Titans series, I liked the first 50 issues or so of the first
New Warriors series, and the most recent Blue Beetle series was really good.
I’ve really enjoyed Avengers Academy these last two years. I’ve enjoyed
watching these kids learn why they were picked for this team and how they’ve
gone about exceeding any expectation anyone might have about them. Their actions
in this issue and Veil’s response really hit the reader. I’m looking forward to
next issue’s Fear Itself fallout as well as the reaction to Veil’s final
comment of this issue.
Journey into Mystery
#628 – Loki’s got what would be an extremely scary crew under normal
situations (normal for comics, anyways), but these are evil beings doing things
for the greater good. Kieron Gillen does a wonderful job each month of
chronicling Loki’s quest for respect. It’s just too bad they got Whilce
Portacio for art duties. It’s just plain ugly. Also, the Disir are badass and
awesomely terrifying. And one is insane.
DC’s New 52
Aquaman #1 – Well,
I liked it. I liked that they brought up the jokes and had Aquaman address
them. He’s super strong. He doesn’t talk to fish because “their brains are too
primitive to carry on a conversation.” I like that he was eating in a seafood
restaurant. Why would he balk at surface dwellers eating fish? What else would
the Atlanteans eat? I like this strong and confident Aquaman, who before I
could never get behind. Actually, I take that back. I really liked Mark Waid’s
take on him in JLA: Year One. It was the little things, mainly the vocal volume
thing, how Waid had him speaking softer on land because he’s used to “talking”
underwater where sound carries differently. This felt similar to what Waid was
trying to do there, humanizing Arthur instead of showing how different he is. I
like what Johns did with The Flash, Hawkman and Green Lantern, and it right now
I like the first issue of his Aquaman book.
Flash #1 – Wally
will ALWAYS be my Flash. I was okay with the return of Barry, but Wally was
Flash when I started reading comics, so he’ll always be MY Flash. I was
assuming that not much about the Flash was changing in this new universe, but
Barry and Iris are just acquaintances, so that’s a pretty big change. I guess
we’ll see their courtship all over again. I was lukewarm to the previous
series, and I’m less than enthused about this one. This one isn’t a keeper.
Green Lantern: New Guardians
#1 – The beginning confused me a bit with the recap of Kyle’s origin.
Basically, with this last Green Lantern first issue, they’ve made sure that we
know that after the reboot, NOTHING has changed with the Green Lanterns. The
story looks interesting enough, but I can’t get behind Kirkham’s art. I don’t
think it’s good enough. I think it’s fine for Top Cow or Aspen (or wherever he
came from before DC), but I don’t think it’s up-to-snuff for this book.
Justice League Dark #1
– This was just weird enough to hook me but not so weird that it turned me
away. I really liked the way that the team is being set up and why these
magic-based characters are going to form a team that begins with Justice
League. These characters are going to face the world-ending threats that
science-based heroes like Cyborg, fact-based heroes like Batman or heroes like
Superman who are extremely vulnerable to magic just can’t handle. I’m not
totally sold on the series, but I’ll be back for at least one more issue.
Final Thoughts on the New 52
Keepers
Action Comics
Aquaman
Batman
Green Lantern
Green Lantern Corps
Resurrection Man
Stormwatch
Wonder Woman
At Least One More
Issue
Animal Man
Deathstroke
Green Lantern: New
Guardians
Justice League
Justice League Dark
Justice League
International
Red Lanterns
Suicide Squad
Superboy
Swamp Thing
Just Don’t Care
All-Star Western
Batman and Robin
Batman: The Dark Knight
Batwing
Batwoman
Birds of Prey
Blackhawks
Blue Beetle
Captain Atom
DC Universe Presents
Demon Knights
Detective Comics
Flash
Frankenstein: Agent of
S.H.A.D.E.
Grifter
I, Vampire
Legion Lost
Legion of Super Heroes
Men of War
Mister Terrific
Nightwing
O.M.A.C.
Supergirl
Superman
Static Shock
Disappointed That I
Actually Took a Look At It
Batgirl
Catwoman
Fury of Firestorm: The
Nuclear Men
Green Arrow
Hawk and Dove
Red Hood and the Outlaws
Savage Hawkman
Teen Titans
Voodoo
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!
I’m a little surprised that Avengers: The Origin hasn’t happened before this. If you’re familiar with the Avengers and how they got together, then this isn’t new for anybody. This just updates the team’s origin and let’s us know it’s updated by throwing in computers and email. Also, and maybe this was already known and maybe not, but apparently Stark Industries developed Shield’s helicarrier. It is a good read, though, and it’s pretty to look at.
I didn’t know what to expect when I picked up Captain America/Black Panther: Flags of Our Fathers. I didn’t notice Cap’s shield on the cover, or else WWII as the setting wouldn’t have been such a shock. Well, I guess the title was a bit of a hint, too. So this is the first meeting of Cap and the Black Panther, but I think we can safely assume that this isn’t T’Challa, but most likely his father or grandfather. It’s a good story. I like how Gabe (that’s his name, right?) is getting some panel time, but he’s not being exploited by writer Reginald Hudlin as the only black member of the Howling Commandoes. I like the limited use of color (hmm, that phrase seems to take on a new meaning) by Pete Pantazis. It really makes Denys Cowan’s art pop when we eventually do get a bright splash of color. So yeah, I guess I like this book.
I normally don’t enjoy solo mini-series for characters I enjoy so much on a team. Sometimes a character works better as a member of the X-Men or the Avengers rather than fighting the good fight solo. But I thought I’d check out New Avengers: Luke Cage before dismissing it, and I liked the first issue. It’s Cage dealing with something in his past, which seems to be the default theme of mini-series like this. But it’s brought to the here-and-now by throwing in a couple of Spider-Man baddies and respecting the current continuity. So kudos to writer John Arcudi for that. I don’t recall ever having seen artist Eric Canete’s work before, but so far I’m impressed. He does a good job of not making all of the background/minor characters look the same, and there’s an energy to the work that I like. Hopefully I’ll be just as impressed with the remaining two issues of the mini.
Realm of Kings
Realm of Kings: Son of Hulk seems to have nothing to do with the rest of the crossover. Whereas the other books deal with creatures in or from the Fault, this is only tangentially related. It’s also done nothing to make me like this character any more. It looks like the only thing decent that might come from this series is the “resurrection” of the Micronauts.
Second Coming
Although it’s set during the events of Messiah Complex, I’m putting Cable here since Second Coming is a direct result of MC. I never read the Cable/Deadpool series, but now I’m thinking I need to go back and do just that. This issue was great. The chemistry between these characteristically polar opposites was great. These two characters need to get together again. I’d love to see what happens when Deadpool meets a grown-up Hope. That could be fun.
If this issue of Uncanny X-Men is doing what I think it’s doing, it’s doing a good job of it. Sure, it’s throwing a bunch of stuff at Cable and Hope, but we’re seeing Cyclops functioning as a competent and able leader with talented and ready crew. It’s like we’re being set up for an easy win early in the game, so I’m expecting that, within another issue or two, the shit is going to hit the fan and our mutant heroes will be taken down a few pegs. That’s a good way to handle a story like this, so kudos to writer Matt Fraction. I really like the use of Cypher here. I always thought he was a useless character, but the upgrades he’s been given have made him pretty indispensable to Cyclops.
Spider-Man
Uhhhhh, Spider-Man: Fever was just a bit too trippy for me. I have no idea who Brendan McCarthy is, but his style is pretty reminiscent of an underground comic creator, and his artwork at times reminds me of Peter Bagge. Half the book is a crazy LSD trip, and I’m assuming that all of the next issue will be similar. Good effort, but no thanks.
Ultimate
Well, I guess we learned who one of the characters is on one of the variant covers to issue #1 of Ultimate X. I don’t like this look for Jean Grey and hopes she goes back to something a bit more normal. Other than that, though, this was a good issue showing us what Jean has been doing since Scott’s death. Special people just can’t live mundane lives, at least not in comic books. I wonder if this first arc will introduce us to one of those cover characters each issue. I’m okay with that. I guess next issue we’ll learn how Jimmy found Jean and if Kitty is with him.
Wolverine
From one Captain America in last month’s Wolverine: Weapon X to another one in this month’s. As with last month’s bar hopping of Logan and Steve, it wasn’t the action that really brought this book home (although the fight with the Deathloks was good). It was one tiny thing: Bucky having dinner and talking about food in Russia. It’s the little things like that that humanize these characters and make them just a teensy bit more relatable and a lot more likable. I have no speculations on the identity of The General. I don’t often like to do that. It tends to ruin the revelation for me whether I’m right or not. If I’m right, then the surprise is ruined, and if I’m wrong, I’m disappointed because I’m wrong. I’ll just enjoy it for what it is.
World War Hulks
The last time I paid any attention to Rick and Marlo, Marlo had moved on to women and was seeing Moondragon. What happened with that? Eh, I guess it’s moot. Did we really have to see them taking a relationship break? That could have been covered off panel. The Talbot story was a good way of showing what kind of a soldier he is and what we might expect from him. The Cosmic Hulk (blech) story was more of a Betty/Glenn story. I thought the Samson story in a recent issue of Hulk was much more illustrative of Leonard than this small story. The Red She-Hulk story was a good continuation from her Hulk back-ups, but I don’t really like her as a character. The Hulkpool story could have been better. Arguing Hulk monologues would have been a plus. But at least we learned how Red Hulk got Deadpool into a duffel bag. I was really hoping for more from the first issue of World War Hulks, maybe of the actual war rather than some vignettes.
Other Marvel Books
Just when I thought Marvel milked their zombies for all they were worth, Marvel Zombies 5 comes along, and I’m still interested. So far, I like the premise. Machine Man and Howard the Duck are traversing parallel worlds that have been infected by zombie plagues in the hopes of finding the cure for the plague on their world. Wait, is their world the 616 Marvel Universe? Does Deadpool’s decapitated zombie head count as an infestation, or am I forgetting something from the ending of the last zombie mini-series? Either way, I think I’m going to enjoy their trip through the multiverse, hopefully in ways that I didn’t enjoy Deadpool’s recent jaunt in Prelude to Deadpool Corps.
Stephen King’s N. is freaking me the fuck out. And Alex Maleev’s art is doing a great job of giving it that extremely spooky ambiance. It’s weird. I don’t like horror stuff. I’m very easily scared. But I’ve been a fan of Stephen King since I was in middle school, maybe a bit earlier. He hasn’t helped in my trials as a scaredy cat. This book isn’t helping either. Lately king’s work has been less spooky and a bit more suspenseful. This has got classic King. Spooky creature. Ordinary people struggling to keep this creature at bay. Ordinary people failing. I’m loving this and getting freaked out at the same time.
For right now, I’m just assuming that S.H.I.E.L.D. takes place in an alternate reality. That has to be the only reason why we’ve never heard of the Brood attacking ancient Egypt of Galileo taking out Galactus. And Iron Man and Mr. Fantastic’s dads working for “S.H.I.E.L.D.” in a secret city deep under Rome in the ‘50s? Yeah, it’s gotta be an alternate reality. Doesn’t it? And who’s the guy with the Eternity or Captain Universe-like body?
Justice League/Society
Flash Secret Files and Origins is a pretty handy book, and it’s got a good tease for the new Flash series about to be released. The story is pretty forgettable, but it throws in a couple of interesting nuggets. First, apparently all the speedsters connected to the speed force are now drawn to Barry and his emotions. Ooooookay. Second, the Rogues have a contingency plan should Barry ever return…which he has. So let the speculations on what that play is…begin! The rest of the book is filled with dossiers on just about everybody important in the Flash’s world. Regular readers get to bone up, and new readers get a quick introduction to everyone. It’s kind of win-win.
Can somebody clear something up for me? Does JSA All-Stars take place before or after Blackest Night? If it’s before, then this story needs to wrap up quickly so it can get back into continuity. If it’s after, I guess Damage was resurrected along with a bunch of the other heroes via the White Lantern. My biggest problem with this issue was the relative ease with which Anna Fortune captured the King of Tears. He was a pretty big deal for the JSA when the team re-formed and we were first introduced to Johnny Sorrow. He took out the Spectre, right? And this girl shoots him and captures him? I don’t think so. I liked the Stargirl and Atom Smasher scenes, though. I hope those crazy kids can make it.
Last Stand of New Krypton
All this just to have Kandor rebottled in Superman: Last Stand of New Krypton? That seems like a colossal waste of comic book pages. It looks as though Zod has planned for this. Will this actually end up being master tactician Zod against brilliant Coluan and strategist Brainiac-5? Or the two teaming up against Brainiac? Ugh, I still don’t care at all. I just want to see this through.
Superman
As much as I like the writing and art of Superman: Secret Origin, I don’t like the fact that it’s here. I mean, I understand the need to revise a character’s origin every now and then. I just question the need to do that to Superman now. I like Metallo’s previous origin. I don’t like that Perry White is the editor of a tabloid rag and not a respected paper. I don’t like that Johns is shoehorning General Lane into Superman’s origin to better fit his current xenophobia. When John Byrne did this in the mid-‘80s, Crisis had just happened and this was an easy thing to do. Superman was pretty much a new hero. Now he’s just an existing hero who is being changed. But still, great art by Gary Frank.
Other Books
I don’t know which issue of The Boys it’ll happen in, but Hughie’s going to get an ass whooping from Butcher, and he’s not even going to know why. Y’know, lately I’ve been so tired of Garth Ennis, from his war stuff to his Avatar-published books, but I’m still enjoying The Boys. There’s still a lot of shock value in the book, but there’s a point to it. There’s still a good story behind it, and it’s not the sole purpose for the book.
I don’t know if I should be, but I’m confused as hell after reading this month’s issue of Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 8. I understand that explanations about this entire “season” were attempted, but they just didn’t click with me. I still don’t understand what Twilight is or really what the connection is between Angel and Buffy. I don’t like to admit when comic book concepts are over my head, so I’d rather just blame it on poor or vague writing. I’m going to hope that it all comes together for me in the end.
I’d like to do all I can to forget the G.I. Joe movie. But it seems IDW has gone and given Ripcord a bit of the movie treatment when focusing on him in G.I. Joe: Origins. Surprisingly, I’m okay with this. These past two issues did a great job of showing why Weems was chosen to be a Joe and how resourceful he is. It was a great story, regardless of the movie influence.
This Week's Prospects
Action Comics #888 Adventure Comics #10 Brightest Day #0 Daredevil #506 Ender's Game: The League War Fables #94 Flash #1 Irredeemable Special #1 Siege: Captain America #1 Siege: Loki #1 Siege: Young Avengers #1 Spider-Man: Origin of Hunter #1 Ultimate Enemy #3 World War Hulks: Hulked-Out Heroes #1
It’s been a nice and stress-free week, and I’m looking forward to some good comics. What will the day bring me?
Amazing Spider-Man #622
Avengers: Initiative #33
Blackest Night #7
Deadpool #20
Flash: Rebirth #6
New Avengers #62
Thor #607
Thunderbolts #141
Ultimate Comics Enemy #2
X-Factor #202
X-Force #24
X-Men: Legacy #233
I’m not looking forward to as many books as last week, but this is still a very impressive list.
Two quick questions, though: 1) Didn’t we just get a new issue of Deadpool last week? Not that I’m complaining, ‘cause it’s a Spidey team-up and Hit-Monkey is involved, and Deadpool is hilarious…and 2) When did issue number 5 of Flash: Rebirth hit the stands? I had all but forgotten about that book.
I’m hoping that Thor finally hits the Siege crossover with this issue. I’d probably know if it did or not if I read the solicits, but I don’t. I like to be surprised.
Books Based on Books
I didn’t know what to expect with DarkTower: Battle of Jericho Hill. But it looks like we’re starting the journey to the DarkTower that might possibly end with one of the best opening lines I’ve ever read. I won’t spoil it; go read The Gunslinger. This issue quickly reintroduces us to the major players in this game: Roland and his Ka-Tet, Sheemie, John Farson and Marten Broadcloak. Peter David and Robin Furth have really taken to this world that Stephen King created. They have totally built on this mythology. They haven’t stolen it, they haven’t shit on it, they took it and added to it to make it deeper and wonderful.
Is Ender’s Game: Mazer in Prison from a short story, or are we getting some original material in the same vein as Peter David’s foray into the DarkTower series? If were getting some original stories, then kudos to Marvel. It was great to get a bit of backstory on both Mazer and Graff. It doesn’t make Graff any more relatable, but it shows that he was put in a position where he had to do the unthinkable in order to save the planet. Shades of Ender.
Fall of the Hulks Books
Fall of the Hulks: Red Hulk fills in some blanks that have been popping up in the Hulk book over the past year. This one deals with how he recruited Thundra and why the Wizard recruited her daughter for his latest iteration of the Frightful Four. It’s a good issue that puts a more human spin on the Red Hulk, something we haven’t seen yet. I did have the same thought as him, though, after Thundra kissed him. Will we see HIS daughter showing up at some point?
Realm of Kings Books
I don’t know much about the history of the Inhumans before the Secret Invasion, so I’m not too up on Maximus’ history of betrayal. So what am I supposed to feel by this in Realm of Kings: Inhumans? Acceptance? Hurt? Betrayed? Nah. I can’t bring myself to care much about royal stories. The characters are just too far removed from reality, and that’s saying a lot about characters in a comic book.
Siege Books
Avengers: The Initiative is dealing with two different fronts of Siege: Asgard and CampHammond. On the Asgard side, this issues shows us stuff we’ve already seen, such as the rescue of Thor and the death of Ares, just from different angles. I thought Osborn dismissing Taskmaster was spot-on. Osborn has this thing all scripted out already, so he’s not going to want Taskmaster to be a variable and screw things up. Having Diamondback stay, though, is a head-scratcher. As for the CampHammond stuff, we know that Donyell isn’t going to turn on his teammates, so that’s not an issue. And he and Dwayne are pretty much interchangeable for me anyways. No, I’m waiting for Penance to cut loose. And hopefully he’ll be back on the road to becoming Speedball.
I’m putting Dark Wolverine here instead of with the X Books because it relates more to Siege than it does anything that’s going on in the X-Universe. Also, I don’t like him. I want the final battle between him and Wolvie not to end with hugs and reconciliation, but with a little snickity snickt and Daken’s head rolling across the ground. And I can’t get behind Ragnarok in a comic. How many times has that been a storyline in Thor, only to have the universe and the pantheon of Norse gods resurrected. There’s no shock and awe if it’s only a punch on the continuity reset button.
“I went to the living legends store and this is all they had.” A most excellent line by Mr. Cage in a most disappointing issue. Captain America is back and this is the reception he gets? I realize that there’s shit going on, but c’mon! A little emotional resonance? Somebody? And what was the deal with Carol? Did they have a thing I wasn’t aware of? And I’m all for Nick and his team hooking up with Steve and the New Avengers, ‘cause we saw that happening in the Siege series, but he’s still dealing with Hydra stuff in his own book. I wouldn’t say that I’m a continuity freak, but let’s have some stuff line up here. Little things I can let pass, like Spidey dealing with stuff in both his book and New Avengers, but Siege is a big deal. That’s going to carry over into everything, and it’d be less confusing if storylines would have wrapped up before the big event happened. I’m just saying, is all.
I’m all for letting supporting characters shine, but it seems that Thor has been more about the supporting characters lately than the God of Thunder himself. He didn’t even appear in this book. And Clor has never been an adequate substitute for Thor. I guess since he’s taken Heimdall out of the picture, it’ll be difficult for Loki pass off much of the blame for the invasion of Asgard. Unless of course Heimdall is killed. And maybe it’s the romantic in me, but I’ve been enjoying the love story between Kelda and Bill. I’m wondering if something was done to her when Loki resurrected her. I hope not, and I hope she becomes something of a regular character.
I think Thunderbolts missed an opportunity for laugh and/or uncomfortableness by not directly addressing the end of last issue. C’mon! Scourge killed the Headsman after attempting to assassinate a holographic image of Norman Osborn. How does that not get addressed? Everybody just accepts it? Nah, that’s not what I was expecting. Other than that letdown, though, the book ended up being pretty good. I love that one Asgardian arrow was enough to destroy the Zeus. Mr. X’s reaction to the weapons and killing a good was great. I try not to read future spoilers, so I usually stay away from interviews about upcoming storylines and such, but I read about the new take on the Thunderbolts after Siege is finished up. I’m wondering what’s going to happen to this crew. It’s not that I care about the characters, I just wonder if we’ll get to see some awesome deaths.
Spider-Man Books
Ha ha! I called it last week, didn’t I? Spider-Man and Black Cat are friends with benefits! Good for him, he deserves it. Other than that little tidbit, both stories from Amazing Spider-Man just felt like filler. I was left wanting more from the Morbius story, and I would almost rather have Flash be a cybernetic worker monkey for Reabilify, but seeing Sha Shan brought back some fond memories. One of the oldest back issues in my collection deals with Flash and Sha Shan and their relationship woes. The Vulture shows up next issue, though, so I’m hoping for a more engaging story then.
Ultimate Books
There’s not much to say about Ultimate Enemy. It’s everything you’d expect from a Brian Michael Bendis-penned book, but not much more. Spidey gets the best lines, of course. There’s a smidge of emotional resonance when Johnny goes after Sue and when Spidey somewhat realizes what’s going on. But there’s nothing spectacular about the issue. I’m worried that this mini may end up as mostly questions with quick answers at the end that don’t satisfy.
X Books
Spidey and Deadpool team-up, how do I love thee. Let me count the ways. 1) Deadpool almost constantly breaking the fourth wall. It’s one of the things I loved about Boston Legal. 2) Hit-Monkey. He’s such a tragic character. 3) Deadpool in a French maid outfit, and the fact that it’s about five pages or so before the topic is even brought up by ‘Pool or Spidey. 4) Spidey’s original idea for getting rid of Hit-Monkey, complete with photo ops. 5) I didn’t really get the Terminator X-It gag but realized it was a bit of wordplay. 6) Deadpool’s bullet-time.
I was hoping for SOME sort of a fight against Doom in X-Factor, so I’m a bit disappointed that there was none. Layla continues to confuse me, so I kind of just ignore her. I enjoyed Guido’s unintentional dispatching of the faux Mr. Fantastic, but the art was a bit muddied and I misunderstood it at the time. When Jamie said his head was in Latveria, I assumed he was exaggerating. It took the explanation of the next panel for me to understand what actually happened. There were also a few panels on the last couple of pages where I was confusing Monet with Layla. Again, it took the text to set things straight. Let’s hope that doesn’t become a regular thing.
I am both in awe of and disappointed in X-Force. The story was great. Vanisher and Josh and Rhane each having their moments. The team going up against impossible odds. The ascent of Selene. Great stuff. And really the art is spectacular…I just wish the wasn’t so dark and murky. Crain is doing some excellent work, but it all seems to be in shades of black and indigo. I don’t know if this is Crain’s fault or…well, a look at the credits show ALL of the artwork is his, including the color, so yeah, I guess it’s his fault. Maybe things would be better if X-Force ever had a mission during the daytime.
I liked the way Magneto dealt with Proteus in X-Men: Legacy. As opposed to characters like Venom or Sabertooth, I’ve always enjoyed Magneto more when he’s been on the side of the angels, or at least more about protecting the mutant race rather than just killing or enslaving all the humans. Destiny had two great moments with both Rogue and Blindfold. With the events of the past few issues and what Destiny told Blindfold in this issue, should we assume that Moira MacTaggart was Blindfold’s mother? That should make for an interesting origin story at some point in the future.
Well the free X-Men: Second Coming – Prepare book was a surprise. There’s only about four or five pages of story, but it teases the next X-event pretty well. A few of the X-Men are interviewed after-the-fact about where they were when everything went down. We get responses from Iceman, Magneto, Cable, Cannonball, Wolverine and Cyclops (so maybe it’s six pages), and we learn that someone has died. Magneto was in the room with the body, and Wolverine was pretty pissed off about it. I’m going to go out on a limb and say that Rogue’s going to buy it. That’s the only person I can think of who would have close ties to both of those men.
Other Marvel Books
This issue of Fantastic Four suffers from the faults of the previous issue. We’re introduced extremely quickly to the brand new world under the surface of the Earth, but all the ideas just fly right as us with not much follow-up. I’m assuming we’re going to revisit these places as the plot of some big storyline and Hickman is just quickly getting their introductions out of the way so he can get right to the aforementioned big storyline. And he can’t even show us everything he wants to, so he has to give us a bit of a text endcap. Good and fascinating idea, poor execution.
The fighting between characters who will eventually become allies and teammates in Marvels Project is just kind of tedious. There’s a little bit of interest in Toro’s appearance and Red Skull’s partnership with Meranno. I don’t know anything about Golden Age history, so I don’t know if this is a retcon or not, but I find it somewhat difficult to imagine the Red Skull of that era teaming up with someone who is so far removed from Hitler’s Aryan master-race. Now, tell me later that he was just using Meranno for his own gain and is going to betray him once that gain has been achieved, then it makes sense.
Well, it’s good that Nick is finally making the Secret Warriors a little pro-active, but damn, what they did to Sebastian was cold. I’m assuming that that won’t be the last we see of him, and I’m guessing it was just a way to throw everybody off. Hell, he’s on the cover. He’s probably the most important member of the team (but for the life of me I can’t remember what his powers are).
Blackest Night Books
Shocks abound in Blackest Night, and not all of them are good. Luthor with a ring was a great surprise, but what was better was him taking Scarecrow’s yellow ring and then going after the others. Guy and Hal showing up with an army of multi-colored Lanterns was a beautiful shot. The Entity was a shock, but I didn’t much care for it. Earth is now where life began in the universe? Mmm, that’s a pretty major retcon from Oa being the beginning of everything. And the SINESTRO being the White Lantern? I’m sure it won’t last, but, even for a second it doesn’t seem right.
Well, Blackest Night: JSA seemed a bit trite. A difficult time was had by all JSAers, but the solution to the super-zombie problem, when finally achieved, of course cannot be duplicated in CoastCity. So Mr. Terrific made light? I’ve got some pretty bright light bulbs at home. Could that save me from super-zombies?
Justice Books
I didn’t get the good feelings at the end of Flash: Rebirth that I did with Green Lantern: Rebirth. I enjoyed Johns’ turn at Wally West, but I never had the connection with him that I did with Hal Jordan. And Barry was dead a gone years before I started reading comics. So Barry is back, whoopity doo. I’m more interested in what the Rogues are going to be up to now that their original foe has returned from beyond.
A LOT of stuff happened in Justice Society of America, almost too much. We’re quickly introduced to a future run by Nazis, Green Lantern is killed, and we’re introduced to a whole host of Nazi-themed villains. I think I recognize Captain Nazi and Baroness Blitzkrieg as WW II era villains, or in Baronesses case a variation on Baron Blitzkrieg, but I’m assuming all of the others are new creations. Either that or Willingham really mined the DC Golden Age vaults for these characters. I’m making two statements regarding this storyline: 1) the JSA will stop whatever events result in a Nazi-run America, and 2) Alan Scott is not dead. Sigh, I think we’re in for a bit of time travel.
Superman Books
I can’t get behind this month’s Superman. We finally have the line-up and identities of the Legion’s espionage squad, but they just ran off with a promise of a later conversation. Then we get almost a full issue of filler. All for Conner to show up and have Mon-El meet the squad in the next issue of Adventure Comics? That’s kind of lame. I’m ready for this storyline to finish so we can start on something new.
Other DC Books
I am officially done with Teen Titans until the next shake-up or creator change comes along. It’s just so boring, and as much as I like Blue Beetle, I’m not going to read a team book on the off chance of seeing him for a bit.
I think I’m enjoying The Web the most out of these Impact/Archie/Red Circle reinventions because it’s the most straight-forward superhero book. The cockiness of the main character also doesn’t hurt. This was a good issue; nothing crazy-spectacular happened, it was just a good issue. Hero takes on a mission, meets a new villain, fights said villain, and accidentally…well, I can’t tell you EVERYTHING. I like the new villain, whom I’m guessing is some sort of vampire. She and the Web had some good banter going, and I like her upfrontitude (Like that? I just made that up. You can use it.). Also, I like Andrew Robinson as the new artist, but I like him more as a cover painter. Maybe it’s nostalgia for the work he did on the Starman series, but it’s good stuff.
G.I. Joe Books
Okay, Chuckles is awesome. We all thought he was captured in G.I. Joe: Cobra II, right? Turns out he’s even more badass than his undercover work in the previous series implied. I think I need to do a quick re-read of the series, though, because I didn’t realize that Chameleon was still trying to pass as Jinx. I thought she was just supposed to bear a passing familiarity in order to shake up Chuckles.
I’ve been enjoying the IDW G.I. Joe revamp, so when Operation Hiss came out, I thought I’d give it a try. As soon as I realized it was part of the movie continuity and not the comic book continuity, I closed it. No thank you.
Other Books
How can Warren Ellis’ stuff seem so new and old at the same time? I guess Captain Swing and the Electrical Pirates of Cindery Island deals with steampunk. It’s surprising technology in an untechnological time. The most interesting parts of this book are the text pieces by Captain Swing. The alternative history does more for me than the mystery of a flying boat.
I don’t think I can take Garth Ennis seriously anymore. What is he doing anymore, war books and torture porn? Sure, the story Wormwood told in Chronicles of Wormwood: The Last Battle about how he and his rabbit hooked up was touching, but the rest was just shock for shock’s sake. Right now, I just don’t see the point of it besides riling people up.
With his military background, I would guess that Gravel is not just tapping people for a new Minor Seven, but he’s also drafting an army of magicians. And the people he recruits this issue are pretty hard-core. One kills people who lust after her, and the other eats pieces of corpses and takes drugs. With the power he’s amassing, it’ll be interesting to see what he’s up to.
Okay, a way to beat Tony has been revealed in Irredeemable. Let’s find that piece of wax and get this over with. The series seems to be dragging a bit. Why doesn’t Tony pick off these heroes one by one? I somewhat understand his need to visit his past, but if his goal is to show Sam his good side, I think it’s backfiring. This guy was apparently messed in the head as a kid.
Hmm, might Walking Dead be somewhat good again? You root for these characters and hope that they find peace and safety, but at the same time, that makes for an extremely boring book. So yea, they found peace a safety. Now I hope that that is just an illusion and this ends up being a nightmare community for our gang. There’s obviously something going on there, and Kirkman is doing his best to keep all the characters at ease and possibly off their guard, so I’m hoping for some big-time shake-ups to happen. Maybe not next issue or the next, but relatively soon.
