5/26/10

Hello again, friends. Forgive the lateness of this post, but due to lack of foresight, I have an incomplete pull list. I am not, however, without things to say, and in the interest of punctuality, here's this week's stack:

HERO OF THE WEEK: Another hero of the Heroic Age takes it this week. A new super-team launches in Thunderbolts #144, under the direction of none other than Luke Cage. Cage, being a reformed convict, is perfect to lead this group of crazies and semi-crazies, including heroes like Songbird and MACH, villains like Crossbones and Juggernaut, morally ambigous characters like Moonstone and Ghost, and...Man-Thing. Why? Because why the kcuf not. But it's Cage that ties them together and gives them purpose...until he's crushed by Baron Zemo, apparently back from his time romp and wanting to take control of the T-Bolts. Jeff Parker writes a great team building issue here and showcases what to expect from these folks. Great stuff.


VILLAIN OF THE WEEK: Slim pickings for this week's villain, but I gotta choose someone, and it might as well be the Red Lantern boys. Green Lantern #54 continues in the Brightest Day, with the New Guardians together looking for the seven entities of the emotional spectrum. With Hal, Carol, and Sinestro in, the next one up was Atrocitus. We find the guardian of rage in the angriest city on Earth, New York, providing vicious subway justice with his friend, Dex-Starr the Rage Kitty. The two meet up with the trio, fight, and are interrupted by Lobo. What's interesting here is that Atro has actually found affection for his previous ally, Mera. Can't wait to see how that plays out with Aquaman. Johns writes these guys as well as he ever did, but it's Doug Mahnke's art that makes them shine. I'm looking forward to how this storyline plays out.


ISSUE OF THE WEEK: Following up from last month, it's Secret Warriors #16. 'Wake The Beast' has been a strong arc thus far, and it's closer is no exception. A lot of stuff happenes, but Jonathan Hickman juggles it well enough to keep the readers interested in keep the stories intriguing. We start with a meeting between the heads of HYDRA and Leviathan, which, expectantly, ends in violence. Next is a brief flashback showing that Commander Kraken is not the first person to bear that name and killed his predecessor. Then we see Nick Fury mobilizing his forces to strike while the bad guys are distracted with each other. Finally, we see that J.T. James, card carrying member of the Secret Warriors, is on the payroll of Baron von Strucker, leader of HYDRA. It's a great plot twist, though I have to say I saw some of it coming. The only major fault with this issue is the art. Gianluca Gigliotta replaces Stephano Caselli on this book (which seems to attract Italian artists for some reason). Gigliotta tries to mimic Caselli, but it comes off as making all the characters look weird and misshapen. Regardless, this issue was strong on plot and i'm really looking forward to what happens in it.


OTHER THINGS OF NOTE: Secret Avengers #1 was another team-building issue of the Heroic Age. We jump right in here, seeing Captain Rogers's black-ops team in action. It feels weird seeing Mike Deodato draw people who aren't villains, but it still looks great. While it's too early to comment on the plot, the characters are well written and it's an interesting-looking team. I'd like to see how it plays out.

The Guild #3 of 3 closed the miniseries based on the web-series. The conclusion is bittersweet (mostly sweet) and the final line made me laugh. Jim Rugg's artwork switches between newspaper-strip cartoony for the real life portions and epic-style portraits for the game, both of which look really cool. The series overall was a fun little romp and if another of it's kind came out, i'd pick it up.

Amazing Spider-Man #632 debuted the newest version of the Lizard, who looks and is really cool. Go check it out.

And now it's time for the QUOTE OF THE WEEK! This weeks quote comes from The Guild #3:

"It might look like i've dug myself into a pit, but i'm actually happier now. Because of gaming with my guild. No matter what my therapist keeps saying to me, I can escape there. It's what I need right now. Besides, it's not like i'll ever have to meet these people."

And that's my stuff for this week (almost). Hope you enjoyed reading it! Thanks, i'll see you next time!

5/17/10

Welcome back, readers. Probably reader, actually. Whatever. Anyway, this past Wednesday I picked up two titles from each of the two major companies. However, one dominated the other in terms of quality. Lets take a look!

HERO OF THE WEEK: We're going old school on this one. 3-D Man takes it, for finally joining the Agents of Atlas. In Atlas #1, Delroy Garret, the successor to the role of the 3-D Man, begins tracking the Agents through San Francisco as he recounts his backstory. Jeff Parker is one of the few writers who can switch back and forth between storyline and exposition well, and he does so here, with Garret's search in the present and memories of the past mixing well and playing off each other. It's cool. I like it. I think i'm gonna enjoys this series.

VILLAIN OF THE WEEK: It's a new character this week. Not just new to the blog, but new to comics in general. In Ultimate Avengers 2 #2, War Machine is assigned to bring in the man who taught Bruce Banner how to be the Hulk, Tyrone Cash. In the beginning, he was Professor Leonard Williams, a physics teacher with injured legs who developed the Hulk formula with a young Banner before testing it on himself and leaving. Now, we discover he has changed his name and used his powers to become a crimelord in South America. He and War Machine fight, exchange words, yadda yadda yadda, until finally they reach a deal and Cash is brought into the Avengers. Their mission? To takein the previously unheard-of Ultimate Ghost Writer. Mark Millar and Lenil Francis Yu make a killer team here, with great artwork and cool dialogue throughout. I'm definately digging this series.

ISSUE OF THE WEEK: Marvel's Heroic Age officially starts with Avengers #1, from Brian Michael Bendis and John Romita Jr, and I loved it. Our story starts by introducing the Next Avengers into Marvel comics, which is a trippy twist to say the least. The NA were the protagonists of their own animated film, which itself was alright for a kids film. But now they're in comics and they kcufing killed Immortus! Dude! These guys are way more hardcore than I gave them credit.

After this, Captain Steve Rogers, America's new top cop, recruits his new Avengers team, consisting of Captain America, Thor, Iron Man (together again for the first time), Spider-Man, Wolverine, Hawkeye, and Spider-Woman. Several other heroes are brought in as reserves, but one rejects the offer: Wonder Man, planting the seeds for a future story arc. Anyway, during the first meeting, Kang the Conqueror breaks in. Kang, an old school-villain dubbed a 'time terrorist' by Captain Steve, exposits that the Next Avengers have been screwing up the timestream and that he needs the Avengers help to take them. He also appears to have a doomsday device Tony Stark has not yet invented. And, at the end, he confers with the Maestro, a super-strong, super-smart, despotic Hulk from the future.

In the first issue, Bendis and JR Jr set the tone for the series, with great Bendis dialogue and the beautiful artwork we've come to expect from Romita. The issue is a lot of fun, it sets up for the future, and is just generally really cool. I suggest you pick it up.

OTHER THINGS OF NOTE: Brightest Day #2 is a series that'll probably appear in the blog a lot. Despite that sweet-ass Aquaman cover, this issue was mostly about the Martian Manhunter, with him remembering his origin as well as learning of a new wrinkle to it. Some other stuff happens with the Hawks and Aquaman, but it's Deadman who steals the show, as the issue ends with him about to face the Anti-Monitor. This wasn't the best issue, but it was alright. Things'll pick up soon.

Legion of Super-Heroes #1 was Paul Levitz's return to the 31st century's greatest heroes. While fans of his work might enjoy this, I didn't. Levitz's work really seems like older writing, with a lot of narration and exposition driving the story. Plus some of the things involved just seemed stupid. For one thing, I have to imagine people in the 31st century know not to witness the beginning of the universe. That's one of he major laws of Oa. Second, the characterization of Sodam Yat was a lot different from Legion of Three Worlds. Wasn't he going to to rebuild the GLC himself and not just be sad that they're all gone? Third, the artwork just seemed off in some places. Good overall, but off. I do like that he kept Earth-Man around, though. He's one of the Legions more interesting villains as of late. I won't be buying this series anymore, but I'll probably follow it.

And now it's time for the QUOTE OF THE WEEK! This weeks quote comes from Avengers #1:

Bucky: Hey...
Thor: I'm sorry.
Bucky: No...I was just saying...Hey...
Thor: I'm sorry, I'm not entirely sure who you are.

That was my stuff for this week. Hope you enjoyed with my review. Thanks for reading, i'll see you next time!

You Should Be Reading: Runaways

Spider-Man was a massive success for a number of reasons. One of the major ones was that it mixed together two highly successful dramas: Superheroes and High School. Peter Parker may have beat up Doc Ock or the Green Goblin every other issue, but what kept people hooked was soap opera of a life, his relationships, all of his teenage bulltish. Runaways took that basic idea and made it work better.

Created by Brian K. Vaughan and Adrian Alphona in 2003, Runaways was about, well, teenagers. Six adolescents, friends only because their parents are business partners, discover one evening that their parents business is honest-to-god supervillainy. Disillusioned, the teens, as to be expected, run away. Some discover that they have inherited powers. Some lose faith with everything they knew. But they all find that they suddenly have to grow up and the reality that they are fugitives from their own parents.

The cast begins with the six teenagers: Nico Minoru (The emotional daughter of sorcerors and amateur practitioner of magic herself), Chase Stein (The rebellious son of mad scientists and thiever of some of their devices), Gert Yorkes (The sarcastic daughter of time travelers and inheritor of a pet dinosaur), Karolina Dean (The kind-hearted daughter of alien invaders and inheritor of their powers), Molly Hayes (The energetic daughter of mutants and, at 12 years old, youngest of the team), and Alex Wilder (The quiet, contemplative son of mobsters).

The characters are all unique and vibrant and all have their troubles. Nico's personal baggage is a steady source of strife in the team. Karolina is struggling with the discovery of her new heritage and her personal identity issues. Alex has to lead the teens but is learning as he goes. And despite of this, there is still humor to be found. Chase's "dumb jock" persona clashes with Gert's "snobby intellectual". And of course there's always Molly, whose exuberance shines on no matter what the situation. It's doubtlessly these characters that keep us coming back. It's the quite moments, the struggle for survival, and the interpersonal relationships that make the series great.

Eventually, the cast expands. The team is joined by Victor Mancha (The smart but awkward "son" of robot conqueror Ultron) and Xavin (An alien super-Skrull in training). All of them come shortly after one of the original six dies and all of them bring something new to an already great team.

Eventually, in 2007, Vaughan left the book at a definite high point and was replaced by Joss the Boss Whedon. Unfortunately, Whedon only stuck around for six issues, during which time a time-travel mishap left the team in 1907. At the end of the story arc, the teens returned to the present with a new member in tow, 12-year-old Klara Prast, a plant-controlling mutant whose life experiences differ greatly from the others. Terry Moore took over as writer after that, with two lackluster story arcs. Finally Kathryn Immonen came in and wrote an exciting four-issue story before the series came to it's current hiatus.

While the quality of the book changes based on it's writers, it's Vaughan's stories that best represent this team. It's about struggle, drama, confusion, action, danger, and coming to grips with adulthood before you're ready. It's absolutely fantastic and I recommend to anyone who enjoys a new twist on a familiar concept.

Thanks for reading, friends. I'll see you next time.

5/12/10

Wow. Wow. That was a big week. With Siege #4 coming out this week, Marvel's Dark Reign is over, the Heroic Age is starting up, and several Avengers titles are ending with a bang. But it wasn't all violence and heroics; some other very nice titles made it into my bag. So, without further adieu, let's review.

HERO OF THE WEEK: Siege #4 had many heroes. Iron Man shut down Norman Osborn. Thor gave the Sentry a proper funeral. Hell, even Loki tried to be good for five seconds before getting disintegrated. But in the end, I have to give it to the big guy, Steve Rogers. In the aftermath of the Siege, the former Captain America was summoned by the President and formally asked to take over Osborn's spot as head of national security. Steve accepted, on the grounds that his demands were met, starting with repealing the registration act.

Making Rogers that top cop is actually a brilliant move by Marvel. For one thing, if you're going to have something called "The Heroic Age", the guy in charge better be the poster boy for heroism. For another, people have been asking why Bucky has remained as Captain America now that Steve's back and why Steve didn't pick up the shield and keep fighting the good fight. Now we know why. Finally, it just makes sense. Steve Rogers has tactical military knowledge, a strong sense of virtue, knowledge of what it means to be a superhero, and good relations with pretty much every good guy on Earth. Nice job, Marvel. Way to be.

VILLAIN OF THE WEEK: If the hero of Siege gets HotW, then the villain of Siege gets VotW. No, not the Void. Even as an omnipotent crazy motherkcufer, he still doesn't do anything (except kill Loki and look menacing). The real villain of Siege, of the whole Dark Reign, is the one, the only, Norman Osborn. Dark Avengers #16, the closer to Brian Michael Bendis and Mike Deodato's awesome series, sees the DA captured by the heroes and taken in for their unlawful attack on Asgard. Moonstone and Bullseye attempt escape, but are captured. Daken attemps escape, and succeeds (unfortunately). Victoria Hand is offered a position as Steve Rogers's new right-hand girl. And Norman is put in the Raft, Ryker's Island double-maximum security istallation, in a sub-basement level where he will be the only prisoner. While there, he has a conversation with an unknown person, outlining that everything he did over the past year was to save the world a protect it in a way that the superheroes could not, and it could have worked, if only the other person in the room didn't get in his way. The reveal is that Norman is talking to his own psychosis and inner demon, the Green Goblin, and he then realizes that he will likely spend the rest of his days alone with this monster. It almost makes us feel pity for Norman, and is a relly nice sendoff to a character who has become one of Marvel's best villains. Excellent.

ISSUE OF THE WEEK: Believe it or not, it's not a Siege tie-in (although most will be mentioned). No, it's The Flash #2. Picking up where last issue left off, Barry is hunted by the Renegades, time cops based on the modern-day Rogues, so that he can be arrested for a murder he hasn't commited yet. A brief fight ensues, which ends with the Renegades retreating due to a malfunction of their time-travel devices. However, this also leads to a nearby apartment building collapsing. Flash, of course saves everyone, but the accident leaves them homeless. So what does the Flash do? In one of the most amusing displays of superpowers ever, the Flash speed-reads entire books on architecture, gathers materials, and builds a new apartment, all in the span of a few minutes. It's actually pretty darn funny. Afterwards, the Central City crime lab finds traces of Barry Allen's blood on the corpse of Mirror Monarch, making for an awkward situation. Also, we see that Captain Boomerang is going to break himself out of Iron Heights prison (somehow) and rejoin the Rogues afterwards.

Geoff Johns loves the Flash and like last issue, he shows it here. Barry as a good sense of humor to him and a fun chemistry with his wife, Iris. The Rogues, particularly Captain Cold, remain badass and brutal villains. And Frances Manapul's art is still kcufing gorgeous. You guys should really be following this series.

OTHER THINGS OF NOTE: New Avengers Finale. The title pretty much says it all. Since the Disassembled storyline, New Avengers has pretty much been Marvel's A-list team. They've seen mutants decimated, Civil Wars fought, Skrulls invade, and been fugitives in the Dark Reign. This is a great closer to it, giving us both an end to the current story and the series as a whole. The story picks up after Siege, as the New Avengers hunt down the Hood and Madame Masque. It's a fun little romp, but the meat of the issue is the ending, where Luke Cage goes over what being a New Avenger has meant to him, what his experiences have been, and how happy he is that they are no longer fugitives ion the world. Had I read more of the series, this would have been really touching. As it stands, I get why it's supposed to be really touching and I think it does a good job of conveying it's message.

Avengers: The Initiative #35 is another closer. It starts with Taskmaster escaping Asgard with Constrictor, including a very tragic moment where Frank leaves Diamondback behind. After that, the Counter-Initiative beats back the Hood's syndicate and the first class at the Initiative reunites, including Komodo getting her powers back. The next day, Tigra confronts the newly captured Hood and, instead of killing him, leaves him to face his wife and daughter. We also meet Tigra's son, who was apparently born when we weren't looking thanks to her cat-physiology or some such nonsense. Then, the New Warriors decide that in the Heroic Age, the idea of the Avengers Initiative would flourish. Finally, we see a few snippets of what happened to other characters in the series. It's a great closer, with nice emotional beats and a clear love of these characters. I'm really looking forward to seeing Christos Gage's next project, Avengers Academy.

Alright, enough Siege. Ultimate Spider-Man #10 is next. It's honestly not the best issue, but it's still nice. When we last left our heroes, Kitty Pryde was in a classroom with federal agents pointing guns at her and demanding she come with them. While Johnny Storm and Bobby Drake want to do something about it, Peter Parker warns them about making the whole thing an incident. And guess who does something about it? KONG! That's right, Kitty's ex, the big bully turned big softie Kenny Macfarlane punches one of the agents. Kitty decides that enough is enough and she escapes with Kong into the sewers. The rest is...it's just drama. It's Kitty, as the Shroud, fighting the Spider-friends and saying that Magneto was right. It's well written, it's just wholly unoriginal and not really that interesting. It's something of a misstep, but establishing what it's like for mutants in a post-Ultimatum world was necessary, and Bendis pulled it off as well as he could.

Birds of Prey #1 puts us back on the DC train. Gail Simone's group of female superheroes reunites in this Brightest Day crossover with something unexepcted: a dude! The recently resurrected Hawk, of the duo Hawk and Dove, will be joining the team, which should make for tons of awkward but probably funny situations. The storyline is basically reintroduction to the principle characters: Black Canary, Huntress, and Oracle. We also get some stuff with Lady Blackhawk, but she's sort of relegated to being a source of out-of-date dialogue. It's pretty by-the-books, but Simone's dialogue and Ed Benes's artwork keeps it interesting. I'll keep on this series to see what happens.

And now it's time for the QUOTE OF THE WEEK! This weeks quote comes from Avengers: The Initiative #36:

"You think I changed my mind because I saw you? No. It's what I saw in the hall. I'm letting you live because you'll never get to hold your baby again. And because I want to spend a lifetime holding mine."

Whew. That was exhausting. Thanks for sticking it out, guys. I'll see you next time!

5/5/10

First off, forgive the lateness of my post. Tightness in my schedule led me to not read everything I wanted to as soon as I wanted to. But, now, at last, here's this weeks stack, and it's some good stuff. Here we go.

HERO OF THE WEEK: It's a first-time winner this week. Everyone's favorite chosen one, Buffy Summers, shines in Buffy: Season 8 #35. The conclusion of the craziest story arc of the series, part four of Twilight stars Buffy and her on-again, off-again, good-again, bad-again boyfriend, Angel. Because the TV series finale changed the status quo of the world so drastically, the universe had to correct itself, which meant selecting two people (Buffy and Angel) to go to the paradise dimension Twilight while the Earth was fixed (i.e. destroyed). Buffy has always been one to defy coonventions, and here she shows it off by choosing to save the world and her friends rather than live in heaven. It's exactly what we'd expect her to do, and yet it's satisfying to see her do it. Plus, the issue ends with Spike showing up! Spike! The series has one arc left before the finally and i'm really looking forward to what Joss Whedon does in it.

VILLAIN OF THE WEEK: Catman, hands down. Secret Six has made a point of tunring all of the irrevelent, D-List bad guys into badasses, and #21 is no different. Thomas Blake, still on the trail of the men who kidnapped his son, recounts his own childhood with his cruel and somewhat demented father. What happens in the flashback shows where Blake's fondness for felines came from and how he got so messed up. The present shows the effects, with Catman uttlerly tearing apart one of the mercenaries. It's twisted, it's badass, it's just what we'd expect from the series. Bravo, Simone and Calafiore. Bravo.

ISSUE OF THE WEEK: Brightest Day #0 introduced characters. Brightest Day #1 introduced plots. The characters all have their goals, and a few of them are established here. The united Lantern Corps (which from this point forward will be referred to as ULC) want to know who will be the first White Lantern (signs point to Deadman, which means it won't be him). Aquaman, for some reason, is still summoning dead sea creatures, and will have to fight the resurfaced Black Manta. Firestorm can't divide. Martian Manhunter has confusing memories about his past. And the Hawks are looking for the remains of their past lives. It's a lot of things going on, but it's good that the characters have direction beyond "We're back and we'll deal with it". And the artwork is gorgeous. Pencils are traded around by Ivan Reis, Pat Gleason, Ardian Syaf, Scott Clark, and Joe Prado, and it's all great, whether it's tense, bloody, dynamic, or just still and pretty. This looks to be a great series.

OTHER THINGS OF NOTE: Batman and Robin #12 was the closer to the "Batman vs. Robin" arc and one of the things I had to wait to read. It was worth it. It's not confusing or hard to follow as the last few issues and has two of the best villains ever. The first was Talia al Ghul, whose controlling behavior leads her son to be mind controlled (Just in time for Mother's Day!). The other is something of a twist. The identity of Detective Oberon Sexton has been a mystery for a little while, and here it's revealed to be none other than *** *****. No, i'm not telling. Go read it. It's awesome. Grant Morrison kicks ass.

New Ultimates #2 proves that this series is one to be avoided, because that sort of thing really needed confirming. Whereas issue one was just insulting in it's stupidity and treatment of the characters, issue two is downright boring. The women of the Ultimates are being turned evil by Amora the Enchantress who's working for Loki and Thor's coming back and some dumb tish is happening and I don't care about any of it because it's so stupid. It's not even entertaining stupid, it's just stupid stupid. kcuF this series.

Amazing Spider-Man #630. I know i've missed this stuff for a little bit, but i've dived back in and i'm glad. Curt Connors is back as the Lizard (with his animal instincts acting as a sort of DID) and Peter's personal life is complicated and funny. I don't like the new design for the Lizard, but who knows, maybe it's grow on me. We'll see.

And now it's time for the QUOTE OF THE WEEK! This week's quote comes from Batman and Robin #12:

Talia: I'll always love you in my own way. And I will permit you to leave with your circus boy in tow. But from now on, Damian, you are no longer welcome here. You may consider yourself an enemy of the House of al Ghul.
Damian: Very well. I hope I can be a worthy one, mother.

And that's my stuff for this week. Thanks for reading. I'll see you next time.

You Should Be Reading: Scott Pilgrim

Welcome to the first edition of "You Should Be Reading", a semi-regular article about a series that I feel more people should follow. The first, of course, is Scott Pilgrim. Now, I had heard some about the series, but after seeing this, I knew I had to read it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K9nS9iDsaj8

Holy tish that's awesome.

The brainchild of writer/artist Bryan Lee O'Malley, Scott Pilgrim tells the story of our titular character. Scott is an average-enough 23-year-old living in Toronto. He is between jobs, he plays bass (adequately) in the band Sex Bob-Omb, and is dating a high-school girl just to have some stability in his life. Everything changes when Scott meets the new girl in town, Ramona Flowers, an American delivery girl working for Amazon.ca. After some awkward moments, the two begin dating. That's when Scott learns about Ramona's baggage: Seven evil ex-boyfriends who will do anything to keep her from dating. Scott must defeat them in order to keep his love life (and actual life) in tact.

While the series starts off as the average life of a comedic character soon becomes action packed madness. Scott's interactions with the League of Ramona's Evil Exes are video-game inspired fight scenes, with unreal physics and powers and over-the-top energy. What's more, the characters take no issue with this happening. Everyone in this world knows how to fight and, fortunately for the reader, most disputes inevitably lead to violence. It's crazy, it's energetic, and it's a whole mess of fun.

The series is full of likeable and funny characters. Besides Scott and Ramona, there's Wallace Wells (Scott's very sarcastic and very gay roommate), Stephen Stills (Sex Bob-Omb's obsessive lead guitarist), Kim Pine (Sex Bob-Omb's bitter and apathetic drummer), Young Neil Nordegraf (Sex Bob-Omb's biggest fan), and Knives Chau (Scott's high-school girlfriend turned stalker). They all have a unique voice and all have their own comedic potential.

Ramona's Evil Exes are as varied and interesting as the main cast, each one with their own powers and abilities. From an Indian who can summon demon hipster chicks, to a skateboarder turned actor, to a rival bassist with vegan psychic powers. Each has their own backstory and each feeds into the plot somehow. And they are all great villains the fit the tone of the story perfectly.

Scott Pilgrim's first five volumes are on shelves now, with the sixth and final volume coming in July. If you're looking for a fun, crazy and thoroughly enjoyable series, I highly recommend these books.

Thanks for reading. I'll see you next time!