My Collections, Part 2.1: Starman (Ted Knight) - The Comics

This is going to be the first image-heavy post. Rather than clutter up the actual post with a bunch of images that I can't rearrange all that well, I've decided to upload them to an Imgur album. Easy peasy. The link will be at the bottom of the post.

I don't really have much of a connection with Theodore "Ted" Knight, the original Starman. My love of Starman comes from Ted's son, Jack, and the series that follows his exploits. But because I love Jack, I love Starman, and because I love Starman, I love ALL the characters who have taken up the mantle and used the name, and that includes Ted.

This is going to be the most difficult character in which to collect. It's not that he has a ton of appearances, it's just that most of them, at the least his main appearances and not just when he appears in the background as a member of the JSA, are in the Golden Age. I'm looking at about 40 issues of Adventure Comics and about 15 issues of All-Star Comics. Even rough copies of these comics are going to cost me some serious scratch. These will probably be the last issues I'll end up acquiring, if I ever do.

Like I said, Ted isn't my go-to Starman, There is, however, one story that he's a part of that is amazing, and it's no coincidence that it's written by Jack's guiding hand, James Robertson. The Golden Age predates Robinson's Starman series, both in publication and setting. The series takes place following WWII, and the heroes of the time are adjusting to life after the war...The War? Do we capitalize it? Or is that only when we call it The Great War?

Anyways, the story is an Elseworlds series. If you're not familiar, that's the banner DC used to give their alternate reality stories: Batman: Red Rain and Gotham by Gaslight, Superman: Red Son, etc. They even devoted an entire year's annual to Elseworld stories. I REALLY want to talk about the story and what it's about, but even though the story is 24 years old, I don't want to spoil it. I CAN say, though, Ted's character (and he really is more Ted than Starman here) has some great characterization that Robinson actually brings over to his Starman series.

If you're a fan of the story, I just found this old webpage that has annotations on the series. I'm going to be diving into that sometime this week.

Besides The Golden Age, there are a few personal highlights of my Ted Knight collection. I've acquired some of the Silver Age Justice League issues, including the first appearance of the Silver Age Red Tornado. I was lucky enough to snag it for a good price right before it was announced he was going to be on the Supergirl TV show. I've also got the hard-to-find Golden Age and Starman uncorrected preview editions.

I can remember only three times when reading a comic book made me cry. The second time was Ultimate Peter Parker's funeral in Ultimate Fallout #1, when the little girl asked Aunt May if she was the one who made Peter breakfast. Oof, I'm almost tearing up just thinking about it. The third was issue #134 of Fables where Bigby Wolf is reunited with his child (I won't say which one or why they're being reunited...GO READ FABLES). It was beautiful and sad and happy and probably my favorite part of the series, and that is saying A LOT.

The first time I cried when reading a comic book, though, was the memorial service for Ted. The memories were spectacular, and somewhat simplistic art by Peter Snejberg perfectly captured the mood. With the Ultimate Fallout issue, I read it thinking about me surviving the death of one of my kids, and with Fables I read it thinking about having a reunion with one of them. With Starman issue #73, though, I imagined what kind of stories I'd be hearing about my own father if this were his memorial service. It's one thing for a writer to write...that's their job. But those who can put you in the scene and make you feel so many emotions...for an imaginary character...that's talent.

The Jack Knight I grew to love could not have happened without Ted. I don't say that in a snarky way to suggest that without his dad he wouldn't have been born, because duh. Robinson's Starman series was about family and legacy. There were eight different Starman beginning with Ted. There was a Starboy as a member of the Legion of Super-Heroes. There was a Stargirl. Without Ted, there wouldn't be this rich heritage. Don't believe me? Look at DC's rebooted line. There was no Golden Age of Heroes once DC introduced the New 52 universe in 2011. There was no Ted Knight/Starman (there MAY have been a Ted Knight, who knows, but there was no Golden Age Starman), so there was no Jack Knight/Starman. There was/is a Stargirl, but she had nothing to do with the Knight family and the Starman legacy, at least that we've been told. She still found her step-dad's cosmic belt and a cosmic rod, but as far as I know their creator has not been named. Maybe it was Ted?

I'm hoping that Ted is one of the characters brought back when the Justice Society eventually returns. C'mon, it's going to happen. I would have even been happy with a new Starman in the Earth 2 series, but that never happened. So we'll just have to keep looking to the future and see what DC has in store.

If I've done my research, and I believe I have, here are my two lists for Starman (Ted Knight), my Have List and my Want List:

Have List

• 52 #7, 27, 38
• Action Comics Vol. 1 #663
• Adventure Comics Vol. 1 #61 (Millennium Edition), 466
• Adventure Comics Vol. 2 #1
• All-American Comics Vol. 2 #1
• All-Star Comics Vol. 1 #69-70, 74
• All-Star Comics Vol. 2 #1-2
• All-Star Comics Illustrated Index #1
• All-Star Squadron #1-5, 7, 10, 15, 17-19, 24, 27, 30-31, 34, 38, 41-43, 47, 50-51, 53, 57-60, 64, Annual #2-3
• America vs. the Justice Society #1-4, Trade Paperback
• Armageddon: Inferno #3-4
• Batman/Hellboy/Starman #1-2
• Birds of Prey #4, 4 (White Lantern Variant)
• Blackest Night: JSA #3, 3 (Variant)
• Brave and the Bold Vol. 1 #61-62, 182
• Countdown #20, 43, 46-47
• Crisis on Infinite Earths #4, 9, 10, 12
• Damage #12, 15
• DC 2000 #1
• DC Comics One Million #1
• DC Comics Presents: Superman - Sole Survivor #1 (Signed by cover artist Kevin Nowlan)
• DC Sampler #2
• DC Universe Holiday Bash #2
• DC Universe: Legacies #5
• DC/Wildstorm: Dreamwar #2
• DCU Heroes Secret Files and Origins #1
• Final Crisis Secret Files and Origins #1 (Border Cover), 1 (Full Cover)
• Final Night #2-3
• Flash Vol. 2 Annual #3
• Golden Age #1-4, Deluxe Hardcover, Preview, Trade Paperback
• Golden Age Secret Files and Origins #1
• Green Lantern Corps Quarterly #1 (Signed by Mark Bright), 3 (Signed by Mark Bright), 6
  
• Green Lantern Secret Files #1 (Signed by Kevin Nowlan, Darryl Banks)
• Green Lantern: Brightest Day, Blackest Night
• Green Lantern: Fear Itself
• Green Lantern/Sentinel: Heart of Darkness #1
• Hellboy: Masks and Monsters Trade Paperback
• History of the DC Universe #1-2, Trade Paperback, Hardcover
• Infinite Crisis #2 (Jim Lee), 2 (George Perez)
• Infinity Inc. #1-2, 8-9, 12, 20-21, 25, 27, 34, 48, Annual #1, 2
• JLA: Incarnations #4
• JLA: Year One #2, 4, 11, 12
• JSA #1, 18, 56, 69 (Signed by Keith Champagne), 70-72
• JSA: All-Stars Vol. 1 #4, 8
• JSA Classified #20
• JSA Secret Files and Origins #1 (Signed by Darryl Banks, Kevin Nowlan)
• JSA: Strange Adventures #1-6, Trade Paperback
• Justice League: Another Nail #3
• Justice League of America Vol. 1 #30, 64, 73, 82-83, 101, 193, 207-208, 219-220, 231-232
  
• Justice League: The Nail #1
• Justice Society of America Vol. 1 #1-3, 5, 7
• Justice Society of America Vol. 2 #1
• Justice Society of America Vol. 3 #8, 8 (Variant), 25, 25 (Variant), 50, 50 (Variant)
• Last Days of the Justice Society of America Special #1
• Legends of the DC Universe #1
• Manhunter Vol. 4 #13, 23
• Martian Manhunter Vol. 2 #20
• Red Tornado #1, 3
• Sandman Mystery Theatre #38-40
• Secret Origins Vol. 3 #7, 27, 50
• Smash Comics Vol. 2 #1
• Spectre Vol. 3 #20
• Starman Vol. 1 #26-27
• Starman Vol. 2 #0-4 (all signed by Tony Harris), 7, 9-13, 15-18, 20-22, 24-25, 27, 29-30, 32-35, 37, 39-53, 55-56, 61-72, 76-79, 1,000,000, Annual #1-2, Sins of the Father Trade Paperback
• Starman 80-Page Giant #1 (Signed by John Lucas and Drew Geraci)
• Starman Secret Files and Origins #1
  
• Stars and S.T.R.I.P.E. #0, 2, 4, 8-9
• Superman Vol. 2 #226
• Superman/Batman #41
• Superman: Our Worlds at War Secret Files and Origins #1
• Tales of the Batman: Alan Brennert Hardcover
• Thrilling Comics Vol. 2 #1
• Vault of Michael Allred #4
• Wanted, the World's Most Dangerous Villains #6
• War of the Gods #2, 2 (Collector's Edition), Trade Paperback
• Who's Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe #12, 22
• Who's Who Update '87 #1
• Wonder Woman Vol. 1 #231-232
• World's Finest Comics #265
• Young All-Stars #1, 3, 9, 20, 27
• Zero Hour #1-3, Trade Paperback

Want List

• Adventure Comics Vol. 1 #61-102, 462
• All-Star Comics Vol. 1 #8-23
  
• All-Star Comics Vol. 2 #1 (RRP Variant)
• All-Star Comics 80-Page Giant #1
• All-Star Squadron #20-22, 25, 28, 32-33, 35, 44-45, 50, 53, 60, Annual #3
• Batman: Secret of the Batcave Trade Paperback
• Blackest Night: Black Lantern Corps Vol. 2 Hardcover and Trade Paperback
• Convergence #8
• Crisis on Multiple Earths Vol. 1, 2, 3, 6 Trade Paperbacks
• Crisis on Multiple Earths: The Team-Ups Vol. 1, 2 Trade Paperbacks
• DC 100-Page Super-Spectacular #DC-20
• DC 2000 #2
• DC Comics/Dark Horse Comics: Justice League Vol. 1 Trade Paperback
• DC Comics One Million Trade Paperback, Omnibus Hardcover
• DC Sneak Preview #1
• DC Universe: Legacies #5 (Variant), Trade Paperback, Hardcover
• DC Universe: Origins Trade Paperback
• DC/Wildstorm: Dreamwar Trade Paperback
• Fate #22
  
• Final Crisis Companion
• Final Night Trade Paperback
• Golden Age Starman Archives Vol. 1-2 Hardcovers
• JSA Presents: Green Lantern
• Justice League of America Vol. 1 #29, 74, 100, 102, 209
• Justice Society of America Vol. 1 #8
• Justice Society of America Vol. 2 #9-10
• Legionnaires Annual #3
• Manhunter Vol. 4 Trial by Fire Trade Paperback, Origins Trade Paperback
• Power of Shazam #35-36
• Spectre Vol. 3 #62
• Wonder Woman Vol. 2 #159
• Wonder Woman 1972 Trade Paperback
• Young All-Stars #14

Here's a link to pics of all of my Ted Knight/Starman comics.

What You Should Have Read #67

Comic Books Released on May 1, 2013

It’s Thursday, so what does that mean? That’s right, yesterday was new comic day, which means that I stopped by my local comic book store (Rick’s Comic City…go there, it’s pretty awesome) and came home with a stack of four-color goodness. Let’s get down to it. As always, be prepared for spoilers, and all images are taken from the comics’ publisher’s websites unless otherwise note.

Aquaman #19 – (Variant cover scan grabbed from Things from Another World) I have no idea what’s going on in this book. I picked it up because my shop had a variant cover, and I seem to be a sucker for them. The cover image seemed to have very little to do with the book. The Ice King guy from “Adventure Time” is taking over? Is that it? While Mera met the icy guy, Arthur did not, in fact, have the chance to kneel before him. Oooh, is that it? Is this Aquaman’s Zod? I’m very uninterested in DC right now. I’m enjoying Batman, and I’m going to pick up Zack Snyder’s Superman book when it begins, but otherwise, blah. Also, this MAD variant is pretty ugly. I really need to reevaluate my purchasing criteria.

Earth 2 #12 – (Variant cover scan grabbed from Things from Another World) The only other DC series I’m enjoying is James Robinson’s Earth 2. It’s not Starman, which is kind of what I was hoping for, but it’s also not Justice League of America, which is good, because I thought is run on that title was pretty much crap. I’m enjoying his take on these “Golden Age” characters, though. We’ve got familiar names with familiar powers, but the similarities end there. And I like that Robinson is taking his time turning these characters into a team. They don’t just become a team, they’re pretty much forced to come together, and they’re slowly being formed into one. I like that. It’s natural.

Age of Ultron #7 – I was really hoping this series wouldn’t turn into a “What If” scenario. Do we need yet ANOTHER alternate universe to keep track of? Will we eventually get spin-off mini series set in this world? Age of Ultron: Secret Invasion? Age of Ultron: Kree/Skrull War? Age of Ultron: House of M? For the most part, I’m being entertained by this story. I’m a Bendis whore. We all know that. I just have a hard time caring about throw-away alternate universes.

Spawn #231 – (Cover scan grabbed from Things from Another World) I’ll be ho

nest, I only got this for the McFarlane cover. He was the first creator that I ever collected, that I followed from one book to another and for whom I frantically sought out back issues. I haven’t been getting all of the Spawn issues lately. Instead I’ve been picking up the ones that are homages to his earlier work. This one is, of course, an homage to his Spider-Man #1 cover. The thing is, he’s done this before. To his credit though, Toddy Mac didn’t just reuse the cover to Spawn #8 (which came out almost exactly 20 years ago, so that’s kind of neat).

All-New X-Men #11 – The big reveal of this issue was kind of ruined in last week’s Uncanny X-Men, but that’s okay. The treat here was the education of Jean Grey. Bendis is doing a good job of corrupting her pretty quickly. The Phoenix Force is gone, so I doubt we’re going to have another Dark Phoenix Saga, especially so soon after A vs. X, but might we not get Bendis’ take on the Hellfire Club’s brainwashing/corruption of Jean that originally turned her into the Dark Phoenix? I don’t trust her. I’m still on Wolverine’s side of this ever-widening schism, but I’m also on Emma and the Cuckoos’ side of the whole “We ain’t trust no Jean Grey!” thingamajig. The heart-to-heart with Kitty did nothing to reassure me.

Hawkeye #10 – Once again, this is a book I picked up because of the variant cover. I’ve got no idea what’s going on. This issue is NOT a good jumping on point for this series. I also feel I need to say something about my purchasing of variant cover. I know a lot of people hate these with a passion. They use the covers as proof that the industry is heading for 90s-eara crash. Hey, if you don’t like the multiple covers, don’t buy ‘em. I buy them because I’m a collector, not a speculator. I don’t toss these on eBay on Wednesday afternoons. I bag ‘em, board ‘em, and box ‘em with all my other comics. I like having a complete collection when possible. Now, I don’t get variants if they’re more than cover price. I’m lucky in that my shop occasionally sprinkles the regular issues with a couple variants. Sure, the prices on the really limited ones are jacked up, but I’m perfectly okay with paying cover price for a variant cover. Also, this “Many Armors of Iron Man” variant by Paolo Rivera is one of the better ones in the series.

Iron Man #9 – I thought I was going to drop this book after the first storyline, but I wanted to see how/why Tony got into space. Then I figured I’d drop it after that storyline, but you know what? It’s a damn fine book. If I weren’t so confident in Gillen’s ability to tell an absolutely gripping story (he’s the only writer to ever make me give a crap about Thor’s cast of characters), I’d be a little hesitant with him retconning space into Tony’s origin. I’m also enjoying Greg Land’s art a lot more than I have in the past, so I was disappointed to see that Dale Eaglesham was taking care of the art in this issue. He’s not a bad artist, it’s just that I think he tends to make all characters a little bulkier than they should be.

Superior Spider-Man #9 – I’m not buying it. I refuse to believe that Marvel allowed Slott to fully kill off Peter Parker. I do not believe they would allow a non-Peter Parker Spider-Man to be swinging his way through the Spidey books while there’s a major motion picture being filmed. I’ve loved Slott’s take on Spidey since he started writing the Wall Crawler, and I’ve really enjoyed Superior, but I have issues with this issue. First, I get that Peter’s friends and family are his strength, but when Ock starts getting rid of them and he realizes he’s “more than just Peter Parker,” why didn’t he also pull the Avengers and the Fantastic Four out of his memory to fight Ock and his mind villains? Also, did Ock think this all the way through? If he gets rid of Parker and all of his memories, what will he access to convince the world he’s the same Spider-Man everybody knows and loves? So is he now just Ock in Peter’s body? I’m going to trust Slott and assume he’s got all his bases covered. I think he’s earned it. One thing I did like was how Ock viewed himself in his mind. He wasn’t the dumpy villain that we know he is. He wasn’t as slim and trim as Spidey, but his weight looked like muscle instead of chub.

X-Factor #255 – Peter David recently announced that this title would be ending this fall, and I’m okay with that. I’ve recently realized I have no attachment to this team. Instead, I have an attachment to David writing the adventures of this team, and if he’s done, then I’m done. Is it possible to really enjoy a piece of fiction without having any emotional attachment to the characters? Maybe? I find this realization somewhat disturbing. It’s obviously something wrong with me, because David has done a stellar job making each character unlike the other, giving them their own voices and personalities. I read each character differently, I just really don’t care what will happen to them when the series ends. I felt a twinge of sadness at the death in this issue, but it didn’t have the resonance for me that Ted Knight’s (Golden Age Starman, not the actor), Ultimate Peter Parker’s, or even Miles Morales’ mom’s death had. So I will not weep for X-Factor Investigations after I read issue 262. I will bag the book, board the book, put the book with my other books, and I celebrate this complete story that was told.

Next Week’s Anticipated Purchases

Batman #20

Avengers #11

Avengers Assemble #15AU

Avenging Spider-Man #20

That’ll be the tiniest week I’ll have had in quite some time.

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