I
was thoroughly disappointed with the Amazing
Spider-Man annual. It wasn’t badly written and the art was fine. I just
don’t think it was a tale that needed to be told. How many times has Peter
already been through the “It’s a Wonderful Life” story? Is this a story that
needs to be told over and over again? And the twist is that everybody’s life
actually IS better without him? That’s awful. Dan Slott is wrapping up “Ends of
the Earth” in a couple of weeks. I would have thought this would have been a
great opportunity to end the story on a grand scale and almost guarantee better
sales numbers for the annual.
Now,
Batman Annual #1 was the way to do an
annual. It loosely tied into the story running through all the Bat-family
books. Mr. Freeze got an updated origin, and I’m not 100% sure what the
differences are between this origin and his last one. I wasn’t a fan of the
Bat-books before I checked out Scott Snyder’s new series. He seems relatively
close to the Freeze from Batman: The
Animated Series, which is the version of Batman I know best. Close, but a
bit more badass. THIS is how you do an annual. Regular writer, “new” character,
current storyline tie-in…I’m glad I started picking up this title.
I
finally got around to picking up DC’s Free Comic Book Day offering, and I liked
it for the most part. I enjoyed the new origins of three classic but seldom
used DC characters (I fully believe that Pandora is supposed to be the Crimson
Avenger, so I’m counter her as a classic character), although the Question gave
me pause. I always thought part of his charm or allure was that he was just a
regular guy. This new origin is vastly different. And it looks like we’re
getting a definitive origin for the Phantom Stranger, and it borrows a bit from
one of the origins Alan Moore gave him (assuming I’m right in saying that the
Stranger is Judas). We also get a look at seven wizards with lightning bolts on
them. These guys HAVE to play a part in the creation of the new Shazam/Captain
Marvel. I also enjoyed looking around the Black Room. A buddy and I noted the
Haunted Tank, the Psycho Pirate’s mask, something that might be the helmet of
Big Barda or another New God, the Demon’s armor, the Spear of Destiny, and
something that I’m hoping is either the Painting that Ate Paris or the demonic
poster from James Robinson’s Starman series. It looks like the new DC universe
is going to be a very interesting place.
The
ending to “Exiled” in this week’s New
Mutants was very satisfying. Although this did seem more like an Asgardian
book than a mutant book. The Disir were given a logical new purpose. Mephisto
and Loki are at odds again. All of the Asgardians have their memories back. And
Sigurd ran away again, although his reprieve was short indeed. I was happy
enough reading about these “new” mutants during the crossover, but it looks
like my time with them has ended.
The
biggest problem I had with Wolverine
& the X-Men was the lack of continuity between this issue and Avengers vs. X-Men #4. In that comic,
Wolverine told Hope that he called Captain America while she was sleeping in
the back of the jet. Here, though, he calls Cap after they’ve been attacked by
and defeated an assassin squad of Shi’ar death commandos. That’s not a tiny
gaffe. Other than that, though, the issue worked for me. Art and story were top
notch, and it still remains my favorite X-Men book (but X-Factor is my favorite
mutant book).
My
back issue purchases this week were Amazing
Spider-Man #s 669 and 670. I also picked up the DC/Cartoon Network FCBD
issue for my son. He’s really getting into Young
Justice, so he loved the issue.
I
thought this storyline was going to have some consequences, but I was shocked
that Dan Slott was able to flash fry half the world without some repercussions.
That was a very ballsy cliff hanger at the end of the previous issue, but I
enjoyed the way it was taken care of with this issue. The Chameleon is great,
and his banter with Mysterio is refreshing. It’s nice to see the villains
working together rather than bitching about everything and disrespecting the
idea of teamwork. Of course, that doesn’t mean Spidey isn’t somewhat successful
at picking off the lackeys before Doc Ock sends in his new big guns. I’m glad
this is wrapping up with the next issue. The story is working well, but it’s
starting to drag just ever so slightly. I’ve never been a huge fan of the
longer storylines. Three to four issues does the job for me, especially if the
powers that be are going to sub in another artist. I haven’t minded Humberto
Ramos for the past couple of issues, but I’ll always prefer Stefano Caselli. There’s
more of an intensity to it and a bit more realism, if something like that can
be said about such a fantastical comic book.
Is
it wrong that I liked it when Thori sort of saved the day by attacking
Luke/Loki? He’s one of things I’ve been enjoying about Kieron Gillen’s run with
the Asgardians. This has been a good crossover. You wouldn’t think that I title
like The New Mutants and a title like
Journey into Mystery would work well
together, but they do. I didn’t like the ending of this issue, though. Gillen
changed the nature of the Disir. They went from being evil creatures to nothing
but a group of tragic, horny women. I don’t want to feel sorry for them. I
liked them when they were evil Asgardian cannibal women (dibs on the movie
title!). I hope this story ends satisfactorily next week.
And
that’s it for my new comics. I picked up Ultimate
Spider-Man #s 155 and 157 for myself and a random pack of comics for the
kiddos that included an issue of Futurama,
Tiny Titans, Marvel Adventures: Fantastic Four, X-Men: First Class and X-Men/Power
Pack. I also finally broke down and got a hold box at my LCS (Rick’s Comic City in Nashville). I’m
surprised it took me this long.
Big
week this week. Almost too big. So big that I decided not to get the Fantastic
Four Point One issue that I had planned on getting.
Also,
spoilers, because it’s hard to have a spoiler-free discussion.
I
thought the Ends of the Earth one-shot was pointless. I kind of wish I would
have flipped through it before just buying it sight unseen. Spidey recruits
some international heroes to thwart Doc Ock’s plans in their respective
countries, but personally, I would have been fine with this all happening
between the panels of the regular ASM comic. If you read the most recent issue
of Amazing Spider-Man, you know that ONE of these international heroes died.
This comic was a smidge vague. I assume both Kangroo and Sabra were killed by Lady
Deathstrike and Crossbones, but there’s no confirmation. Sure, Lady D slashes
Kangaroo in the midsection and we see some decent blood spatter, but that’s it.
And it sure looks like Crossbones hit
Sabra with a headshot, but all we see is her face-down in a bit of blood. Out
of the two ambiguous deaths, I’d say hers is the least ambiguous.
I
hated Walt Simonson’s artwork in the previous issue, and his work in Avengers
#26 is only marginally better. The stuff with Noh-Varr was pointless. He was
character that Bendis did nothing with other than give him a new identity and a
girlfriend. He wasn’t fleshed out at all, and he’s on my deadpool as the guy to
get whacked in this crossover. He was great in Grant Morrison’s Marvel Boy mini-series, and he was
decent in the Secret Invasion crossover. Since then, though, he’s been pretty
useless. I also don’t understand why he’s so loyal to the Kree. These aren’t
his Kree. He’s from an alternate dimension/universe. I really think Bendis is
dropping the ball with the crossover issues in both this title and New Avengers.
So
far this was my favorite issue of the mini-series. From the opening with
Wolverine wearing a polar bear (not a polar bear pelt, but the whole damn
animal), to the end with Thor crashing to the moon and the Phoenix showing up,
it was all pretty solid. I like that they didn’t draw out the Phoenix’s
arrival. With such a big thing happening so early in the series, I’m really
interested in seeing how this is going to play out. The Thor stuff doesn’t
quite line up with what happened in Avengers
#26 this week, so it looks like we’ve got to wait another week to see how that
ended. He WAS the only one to return to Earth (the Moon) though. I was okay
with Wolverine duping Hope, but I’m wondering why he didn’t just try and end
her right there. Scared? I don’t need to read Versus to know how the fights turn out. I don’t really care. I
thought the first issue was poorly thought out, and I’m okay with just seeing a
couple panels for the fights. I’m enjoying John Romita, Jr.’s artwork, but I
think Colossunaut looks stupid. I don’t have a problem with the Peter
possessing the power or anything like that, I just think is a cumbersome look,
and that isn’t JRJr.’s fault.
Did
anyone really believe Tony was going to quit being Iron Man? Nope, didn’t think
so. Although solicits for this issue touted a new man in the armor, I don’t
think the identity was much of a surprise, especially if you’ve seen the cover
for the next issue. Flip to the back of this issue and you get the cover for
the next issue. The suit is black and silver/gray. The suit has a ghost mode.
The suit…well, other than it looking very Tron-ish, there’s nothing else that
might betray the wearer’s identity, but c’mon, it HAD to be Rhodey. Fraction is
doing his part to rehash (in a good way, I’m truly loving the series) old
storylines. Tony loses his company. Tony gets drunk. Tony isn’t Iron Man
anymore. It’s his greatest hits. So who subbed for Tony before, had a suit of
his own that was black and silver/gray, and who’s latest suit had a ghost mode
that was heavily used? James Rhodes, War Machine, of course. The same James
Rhodes who was fake killed…last issue? So the last page shouldn’t have been a
surprise to anybody. Rehashing or not, like I said, I’m still loving the book.
I loved Tony’s scenes with the extraction of his current armor and the
revelation of his latest armor. I loved Stane’s determination and the
flashbacks of both men. I loved the Spymaster stuff and how Cabe was such a
badass. The only thing that threw me for a loop were the Detroit Steel pages.
It looked like some sexual roleplay gone wrong. I guess we’ll learn more about
that later.
The
end for the series of Locke and Key
series is quickly coming to an end. I have yet to read a bad issue. Hell, one
of them made me cry. In the last issue of the Clockworks mini, we get the resolution to Rendell and Dodge’s (and
their best buds’) adventures with the keys. It satisfying, and it does a good
job of setting up the final mini-series. Man, I HATE that the pilot didn’t get
picked up by FX. If anybody reading this has run across a copy of it (or, if
maybe Joe Hill is reading this and wants to drop a brother a tweet?), I’d love
to see it.
I
won’t lie, this is not a normal book for me. I got it only because of the
crossover with Journey into Mystery.
I probably won’t continue to get the book after the crossover ends, but I was
not unhappy with having to purchase this issue. As crossovers go, it’s working
well for me. It’s pulling on threads exposed earlier in Journey into Mystery, and the tie-in with New Mutants is logical what with them having a Valkyrie and some
sort of Hel dog in their group. I also like that the writers of both series are
noted in the credits. Just because Gillen writes JiM and not NM doesn’t
mean he doesn’t have a bunch of input on what’s going on in this title, and
vice versa. Also, even though Thor is in this, this could KIND OF be an
unofficial AVX crossover. Kind of.
Also also, the ending caught me by surprise. I like it when that happens.
I
guess I’m okay with the way Thunderbolts ended. I haven’t been reading the
title for the last 174 issues, only since Warren Ellis took over the writing
chores. I think it’s because of that that I didn’t really have any feelings for
the Fixer’s fate one way or the other. I mean, it sucks what happened, but dude
brought it on himself. At least he had the wherewithal to man up and take one
for the team. I’m more interested in seeing how this is going to transition
into Dark Avengers. I like the idea
of a dark Avengers team, and while I liked Osborn’s original team more than the
most recent iteration, I’m interested in seeing where Jeff Parker is going to
take the team and how quickly he’ll be able to get rid of Clor. Seriously, get
rid of that shit.
One
of the highlights of James Robinson’s Starman
was the Times Past issues. The fact that he’s bringing the concept over to The Shade is a treat. This series is
slightly odd. We’re learning so much about the Shade’s history, but as of yet
we still haven’t learned how he got his powers, and I don’t think we will.
Despite the murder and demonic possession, this was actually a sweet comic. The
Shade meets his grandson and sees his wife one last time. There wasn’t much
action, but I find that Robinson doesn’t really excel at that. His forte is
history and storytelling. The thing I’m wondering most about this series is how
it fits in to DC’s New 52. Although the Knight family hasn’t been mentioned, it
seems like everything that we know about the Shade from that series is still in
continuity. But there is absolutely no way the Knight legacy can still exist. If
I understand the new continuity correctly (and the only two series I’m reading
are Batman and The Shade, so I could be totally wrong with this), but Superman was
the first superhero to show up, right? So there were no mystery men during
World War II? So Ted Knight wasn’t Starman, and there is no Starman legacy. I
don’t know, I’m just confused. In my mind, it’s all good though because I can
enjoy all of those stories regardless of current continuity. But, if there’s a
chance Mr. Robinson is reading this (‘cause imma tag you on Twitter, yo),
please please PLEASE explain how the Shade and the Knights fit into The New 52.
Wow.
X-Factor was kind of depressing, and Shatterstar and Madrox were almost useless.
I mean, sure, Shatterstar saved the day and killed the bad guy, but how many
innocents were killed first, some of them while Shatterstar was RIGHT THERE? I’m
not 100% familiar with X-Factor’s recent history. I originally started reading
the title when Peter David first came on board in the ‘90s, and I was pleased.
I stopped reading it when I stopped reading all X-books, right in the middle of
the Phalanx Covenant. I got back in when the current series was renumbered
starting with issue #200. I need to go back and get the David issues that I
missed. Anyways, all that to say…is that Mr. Tryp manipulating Far Sight? I’ve
only seen him when Jamie was bouncing around the alternate timelines, and I
have no idea who he is or what he can do. Like I said, I’ve got some back
issues to find.
My
two back issues for this week were, Ultimate
Spider-Man #s 158 and 159, and I picked up a small packet of Justice League Adventures comics, issues
4, 6 and 8, for my son. He was happy.
Here’s
my list for next week:
Fables
#117
Amazing
Spider-Man #686
Journey
into Mystery #638
Oh
thank God this is a small week. The past two were horrible. Hmm, that’s going
to make for a small blog entry. At least I should be able to get it posted at a
reasonable time. Grr.
Justice League #3
– So Wonder Woman is what Marvel’s Hercules would be like if he were a woman.
New Mutants #34 –
So the first two mutants Dani’s team go after are both refugees from the Age of
Apocalypse. I mean, I’m assuming that’s where this Blink is from. The 616 Blink
is still dead, right? Even after X-Necrosha or whatever that crossover was? Oh,
nevermind. I guess I should have read the entire issue before putting words to
paper (as it is). So it’s not the AoA refugee but the formerly dead one. Good
to know. The first time I gave up on the X-Men was right after the Phalanx
Covenant and before AoA. I ended up going back and reading the entire AoA saga,
but I never really connected with Blink. I also never picked up the Exiles
book, so I never got around to knowing her from that book. Then when she
appeared in X-Necrosha, she was just some dead girl. I guess we’ll see if
Abnett and Lanning can put some life into her, so to speak.
Wonder Woman #3 –
So apparently a lot of stuff happens to Wonder Woman in the…year?...between
Justice League and her solo title. She goes from being somewhat ignorant and
awestruck by the “world of man” to hardened and maybe a little cynical. It’ll
be interesting to see how that came about…maybe.
X-Factor #227 – I
don’t care if it was intended or not, I’m considering Rictor’s snarky
demon-lawyer line as a nod to Angel and Wolfram & Hart. And Longshot’s
David Carradine question was great. Every time I read this book I really want
to go back and read Peter David’s Incredible Hulk run. Then I think about all
the back issues I’d have to track down and it sobers me up a bit.
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!
One of the attractions to Spider-Man has been that despite all his powers, things just NEVER seem to go his way. And now, even though he’s got a great girlfriend, a great job, and is a well-respected hero and member of the Future Foundation and Avengers, things STILL aren’t going his way. I think I’m going to like this event. Carly with powers? Awesome. And the beginning of this issue, when Pete thinks he may have transmitted his powers to her via a little nudge nudge wink wink? That’s awesome.
She can’t get rid of the boxes! It wouldn’t be Deadpool if Deadpool didn’t talk to himself and break the fourth wall. I do like that the boxes are being addressed while he’s in the loony bin, though.
THIS is why I like Brian Michael Bendis. I’m reading a story focusing on Squirrel Girl, and I’m really enjoying it. Never has a super-powered nanny been so important to a story then, well, I guess Agatha Harkness. I like what Bendis is doing with this (formerly) joke character. She successfully proved her worth as a nanny for a couple of Avengers. Now, let’s see what she can really do next issue while the mansion is under Siege (whoops, wrong event).
I’ve really been enjoying the new New Mutants title. When it first started, I was a little disappointed that The Powers That Be were shoehorning the original New Mutants back together under this title. These aren’t new mutants. They’re old mutants. They’re veterans. But for the most part it’s been a very well-written series, and the characters are written with their continuity complete. The writers didn’t go back to just making these the same characters from 25 years ago. As far as this issue goes, I thought it was funny that the X-Men’s super-duper airplane has a warning for a bird strike. Had these birds not been Hela, Norse goddess of death, would they have still destroyed the Blackbird? And is it irony that a bunch of black birds destroyed the Blackbird?
Eight top-notch books. That’s pretty hefty for one week. Granted, I’ll be reading a lot more, but these eight will be read with a certain…care and consideration. I’m most interested in seeing how S.W.O.R.D. will play out after the surprisingly awesome issue last month.
Realm of Kings Books
All right, it’s about time we got to the menace that Quasar found out about a few months ago (in OUR time, not comic book time). I just didn't think it was going to be in the Realm of Kings: Imperial Guard book. You gotta wonder, though…what’s going on with Quasar? He obviously didn’t escape unscathed, so did he lead the invasion force here, or was that just a misdirect at the end of the Realm of Kings one-shot? And is this even the 616 Universe’s Quasar? It was mentioned in the one-shot that the Fault-universe’s Quasar had left also. I’m betting this Quasar and the one that returned to Project: Pegasus are two different entities. The question is, which is which?
Ultimate Books
As whole, I really enjoyed Ultimate Armor Wars. As a final issue, though, it just felt rushed. From the attack by Tony’s grandfather’s goons, to the revelation that the mastermind was in fact Tony’s thought-to-be-dead grandfather, to Tony’s miraculous 11th hour save, it was just too…darned…rushed.
I thoroughly dislike this faux-Manga artwork being used in Ultimate Spider-Man, but I can get past it because I like everything else about the book so much. I had forgotten all about the Watcher appointing a herald in the Ultimate Origin mini, but Johnny asking if it was him in the flashback brought it all (well, a bit of it) back. Having it be Rick Jones? Pretty cool. I can even get past the fact that he lives across the street from Peter and maybe has for quite some time, but Peter doesn’t even know who he is. I can’t wait to see where this is going.
X Books
I am really feeling no love for the New Mutants. Scott said it himself this issue, these guys and gals ARE X-Men. I understand that he’s looking for his future replacement, but wouldn’t it be better to look for that in a regular X-Men team rather than a team that just screams “NEWBIE” and “UNTESTED”? And the title is deceptive because there’s not one NEW mutant on the team. This is the original third wave (the first would be the original X-Men, and the second would be the team that Professor X gathered to rescue the originals from Krakoa); not everything old has got to be new again.
X-Men: Pixie Strikes Back was a confusing book. And not confusing in a good, I’ve-got-to-see-how-this-plays-out way, but confusing in an oh-my-God-this-is-stupid-and-I-want-nothing-more-to-do-with-it way. With the opening, I assumed that the teen X-girls were attempting to go to a normal high school, but that obviously isn’t the case. This is almost like a weird, stream-of-consciousness magic thing, where everybody is just talking, regardless of if they’re making sense or not. No more of this mini for me, thank you.
Deadpool Team-Up is a pretty much just one, long, over-used joke. And like all long and over-used jokes, it’s not funny anymore. Wade randomly teamed up with a space trucker and fought some biker raccoons? The whole time I was confused as to how the raccoons learned to ride bikes and fire weapons, but that was quickly explained away at the end. And I learned more about U.S. Ace than I ever wanted to know. It’s Deadpool and I expect a certain amount of frivolity and irreverence, but this was just plain stupid.
Okay, we’ve got another crack in Osborn’s armor in Dark X-Men. I can get behind that. I’m even okay with the Goblin persona taking over. I don’t think I buy it, though, that Weapon Omega was the lone voice of dissent. He never struck me as that clever. And Nate’s big plan was to unleash the Goblin? Is that so the world can finally (again?) see Osborn for what he really is? Okay, but four faux X-Men aren’t the world, and two of them are villains in their own right, so what’s he really accomplishing? And will this all end with Nate being Osborn’s secret weapon from the Siege: The Cabal one-shot? There’s a lot of speculation going around that that is in fact Nate. But who knows. After the most recent events of Siege, it could have been a Void-controlled Sentry. I guess we’ll get a better answer about Nate by the end of the final issue.
Other Marvel Books
I used to really like the monthly What If series from Marvel. I’m somewhat a fan of alternate versions of things. It’s probably why I like song remixes and mash-ups so much. But these past few years, with Marvel’s new What If non-series, I’ve been less than impressed, and the reason is illustrated with What If: World War Hulk. Rather than spending a whole issue on fleshing out a good thought, the book is split into two stories, which are pretty watered down. I enjoyed the premise of the main story, but too many things were glossed over or under-explained.
The best thing about each issue of Vengeance of the Moon Knight is the cover by Leinil Francis Yu. Everything after that is confusing, at least to a less-than-casual reader of the hero. I get the premise, that he was bat-shit crazy in his previous series and incredibly violent, very much like the Punisher, and now he’s toned down and is trying to be a better hero while keeping the crazy to a minimum. What did he do to piss off Osborn, though, and have him send the Hood to get him? The fights this issue were short, peppered throughout the book, and somewhat pointless. He’s supposed to be fighting Bushman, but he can’t get past his random lackeys? And why was Spidey even here? That was pretty pointless.
The scathing wit and humor weren’t quite as prevalent in this issue of S.W.O.R.D., but it showed up where it could, and that’s all right. Brand handled the Metroliths wonderfully. And Gyrich, with his not backing down to Osborn and claiming that the symbiote will eventually have to go, is classic Gyrich. I want to know who/what that robot thing is. He’s like Loki, but more likeable and less slick and slimy.
Daniel Way must be the best writer ever, because, and I can’t believe I’m saying this, but Hit-Monkey was one of the best books of the week. With a book about an assassin monkey (monkey assassin sounds like someone who kills monkeys), you’d think this would be a story with tongue firmly planted in cheek. But it’s not. Way gives Hit-Monkey a somewhat serious origin. And other than the ridiculousness of seeing a monkey practice martial arts and then kill a hit squad, there’s really nothing funny about the book. And that’s what makes it good.
I have the same problem with Ender’s Game: CommandSchoolthat I had when I finished Ender’s Game, the book. It all happens so fast. I love the idea of the kids actually fighting the war and Ender not knowing this. But once Ender got on Eros and was “introduced” to Mazer, everything just happened so fast. It came as quite a shock after the somewhat more leisurely pace of battle school. That doesn’t diminish the fact, though, that this is probably the best science fiction book I’ve ever read, and rereading it in this medium did not lessen that experience.
Have I mentioned that I’m really liking the direction that Amazing Spider-Man is going lately? I do. I really do. This go-around, Mysterio didn’t really get a power-up, per se, but he attempt to up his “street cred” a bit by taking over the destroying the Maggia as well as Mr. Negative’s gang. It didn’t work out, but I like the ambition. And it didn’t seem to phase him all that much that Spidey won out at the end of the day. I can’t wait to finally see what the Kravinoffs have in store for Spidey, and this reunion of the Sinister Six (‘cause I promise that’s what’s happening) has the makings of something epic.
Blackest Night Books
What an awesome ending to the Secret Six/Suicide Squad clash. Last issue was a bit bumpy, but this one finished off the crossover quite nicely. I think Waller, and at the end Flagg, let the Six go all too easily, but if that’s what it takes to keep this team together and this book going, then that’s perfectly fine with me. The cool moments and verbal jabs were wonderful. Savage admitting that she was allowing Bane to think he was in charge. Waller’s revelation at the end (which was news to me even though I’ve been reading the SS books since Infinite Crisis…had that nugget of info already been mined?). Lawson’s apparent indifference at the possible death of Catman. Excellent stuff.
Sometimes a book starts out well, but a company-wide crossover comes a long and just about destroys any momentum that may have built up. That’s what has happened with Adventure Comics. It was going along great for a few issues, then Blackest Night came along and we got all of the Superboy Prime crap, and now we’ve got the Nekron-controlled Superboy. Aren’t Luthor and Brainiac plotting something somewhere? Isn’t that what’s supposed to be going on? That said, I thought Conner’s solution was pretty ingenious. Can we back to the regular story now, though?
Justice Books
Well, JSA All-Stars should have been read before the most recent Justice Society Annual. The brunt of the main story does nothing but set up the plot for it. We also get a little bit of Sandy being all ominous. That guy’s been pretty useless since the end of the last JSA series. And then there’s the Hourman/Liberty Belle back-up. It’s wonderful to see a superhero couple portrayed as having a normal, loving marriage…but it makes for some boring reading. I like the fact that they’ve got separate day jobs now, as referenced in the main story.
Superman Books
While being a bit wordy with the encyclopedic tidbits, Action Comics was pretty good. We learned about the history of Nightwing and Flamebird and the jealous third wheel. I can’t remember if it’s actually been stated, but that story combined with Jax-Ur having his hand in the Nightwing/Flamebird pie greatly implies that he is the vessel or reincarnation or whatever of the Builder/Breaker. Good history lesson, and good story.
Other DC Books
I have no idea what’s going on with the Titans. With half of them becoming members of the JLA, will there be a Titans team other than the Teen Titans? Does there need to be? I don’t think so. The last page says “End,” but I’m not sure if it’s the end of the series or the end of the two-part storyline. I’m kind of hoping it’s the end of the series.
I like the few similarities between S.W.O.R.D. and R.E.B.E.L.S.: they’re both acronyms, they’re both about aliens, and they both usually contain quite a bit of sarcasm. This actually has nothing to do with the issue, though. I’m worried about Starro’s fate. Dox’s team has a plan to stop and possibly kill him, as does Tigorr’s team. Usually when this happens, the two plans end up canceling each other out. There will be a lot of disappointed people, including some closest to Starro, if he doesn’t end up being killed by one of these methods. Oh, and small body/large head Despero was awesome, and it was an injustice to the reader to only see him for one panel. I’m just glad we didn’t have to see his “little conqueror.”
I have absolutely no knowledge of the Human Target. Before the show started a few weeks ago, I knew the character existed, but that’s it. I’ve never read a comic with him in it. So I don’t know how the show matches up with the original premise of the comic. What I DO know is that fans of the show will more than likely enjoy this comic. It captures the feel of the show perfectly. I can actually imagine MarkValley, Chi McBride and Jackie Earle Haley saying the lines of their respective on-screen characters. Other than that, though, the book is slightly corny.
All in all, the Shield is a good book. Good storytelling, good art, good character. Even the backup story with the Flame and Comet was good. But I just can’t get into the book for some reason. I’m not quite sure why that is. I really like the fact that the Shield is a soldier, not a superhero, and the suit is his weapon, nothing but a tool he uses. I like that we’re slowly being introduced to the other Impact/Archie characters, rather than just getting the thrown at us. I ALWAYS like it when Nazis get their asses handed to them. So why can I not get more excited about this book?
Booster Gold is an impotent hero. We know he’s always going to win. If a villain goes back in time, we know that somehow Booster will find a way to keep the timestream safe. Did you ever watch Quantum Leap? Did you see the episode where Sam leapt into Lee Harvey Oswald, and we went through this (I think) two-episode story where we think the purpose is to save JFK, but as it turns out, he was supposed to keep Jackie safe, which he did. But we know nothing…actually…happened. That’s what this book feels like. A lot of story with absolutely no payoff. The Blue Beetle back-ups have been nice, but this story seemed to end rather abruptly. Yay for Peacemaker, I guess. Let’s just nuke the hero.
Non DC/Marvel Books
I know I said that, so far, he’s not that great of a fit for the Justice Society, but I think Bill Willingham is doing a great job on Angel. He’s got the well-known characters down. I liked the flashback that explained Angel’s predicament. I always love Spike, so every time he opens his mouth, I’m entertained (that didn’t sound quite right). The back-up story was good, but I don’t think we know enough about Eddie Hope to care that he has a solo story.
