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Comments
oh, also, the one shots
Spoilers for Wolverine and the X-Men: Wolverine doesn't stay crippled long, it gets handwaved away within, like, two issues.
Until just now, I thought you guys had been talking about Magneto.
Conductor: Yeah thought as much.
Oh great, Mark Millar wrote that abysmal Ultimate Comics: Avengers 3 arc. The one where Blade gets a hateboner for not!Edward.
What are some good out of continuity Marvel stories?
Juan - skip everything except what I am about to list.
* Hercules
*Amazing Spider-man
*Sinister Spider-man
*Dark Reign Ares
*Dark Avengers
*Mighty Avengers
*Uncanny X-men
*X-Men Legacy
*Iron Man
*Dark Reign Fantastic Four
*Ms. Marvel
Deadpool, Tunderbolts and Young Avengers are toss ups, but take a look into them if you want.
Might as well give my reviews for the week before it is Wednesday again and I am further backlogged.
Atomic Robo: The Flying She-Devils of the Pacific #1 - Not much to say here since this is an intro issue of a mini series. Well there is a lot to say here but that would be summarizing the plot which is kinda... a fuck ton of other people already do reviews for that. I will say it seems to catching up for some lost ground and having some kickass women as the leads instead of just supporting cast. And it looks like Clevinger is still going with the A-plot b-plot set up he worked with in volume six. It's just this time the b-plot is from the bad guy's side.
American Vampire #28 - And here we start the new story arc, the Black List. Here Pearl gets roped into working with the Vassals of the Morning star to flush out vampires who are hiding out with Hollywood big wigs. Forget Macarthyism and Reds under Beds, we are out to kill some Deads under Beds! Looks to be setting up for a dynamic arc of Pearl and Skinner just kicking ass and taking names. I will digress that there was one little character moment I really liked. When Pearl realizes Henry is dying suddenly the plans and promises they have made together mean jack shit (in practical terms) and she is out for blood. You can't tell how many times I've seen characters let a dying/dead loved one's wishes dictate their lives and groaned for the poor fuckers.
Batman Incorporated #2 - In which we learn a few things. Most importantly that Talia Al'Guhl is bugfuck crazy. And how she got there. Which is relatively simple. Because hyper rich and demanding hippie assassins don't make good fathers. Kinda adding some ambiguity to Damian's fate. Lets see where the next issue takes us.
Amazing Spider-men #1 - In which Peter and Miles have a hilariously inept slapfest and Peter eventually meets Ultimate Nick Fury. Not bad but you get the feeling a lot more could have happened in this issue.
The Ultimates #12 - In which the resolution to the whole City Incursion arc reaches a conclusion. And some more Tony <> Thor bromance with Sue Storm stepping in to actually do something. And man for all of Ultimate Marvel's pretensions that it's superheroes are less ridiculous than regular Marvel I present the condensed resolution to this arc. Captured by Reed and the City and left helpless, Tony uses his psychic technopathic tumor( who has been showing up through the arc, but was implied to be a hallucination) to talk to the City itself and point out that for all of Ultimate!Reed's talk he is a bitter vindictive asshole. And as such the hyper evolved folk of the City and the City itself kick him out for being that much of an jerk. Lemme repeat that, Tony Stark weaponized his cancer by giving it a personality and treating it like a son. Comics everybody! At the end we have Ultimate Captain America getting off his ass to act a bit more like his 616 counterpart. Yay.
Amazing Spider-Man 688 - Ah lying covers, never change. This was a very solid issue and start of the new "No Turning Back" arc, but a few things irked me. The Lizard looking more like classic lizard than the weird crest thing he had at the end of his Gauntlet appearance. And it is a bit convenient for how just as Peter rethinks his beef with Morbius, our favorite local Science!Vampire does something heinous enough to get kicked out of Horizon labs. And the whole fake out that Peter's failure to live up to his Nobody Dies* vow in Ends of the Earth made him decide to start killing bad guys. Come on, no man, bluh. Now things I did like. Mary Jane knocking Peter down a peg and pointing out that his Nobody Dies vow, while noble, is basically impossible to live up to. What is this? Spider-man learning to accept mistakes that are beyond his control and not let guilt guide his life? Other things I liked, the vindication at the end that Curt Conner's really is gone and it is just the Lizard rattling up in that skull.
FF #19 - It's filler, with the FF kids on a field trip in Wakanda. It's good filler because Hickman is writing it, but it is still filler. The bit with the Moloid kids wondering what kind of person just sits by and watches an innocent suffer while Dragon was getting beat up was classic though. Really I'm just irked that they never did anything with the whole Negative Zone denizens wanting Annihilus back in charge plot from the last issue.
Wolverine and the X-men #12 - Yay a character focus on Rachel Grey! I dunno why but I've always liked her as a character. This is the issue where she is desperately torn between being the daughter to her sort of father and helping mutants in general, and not repeating her past and watching people she cares about slip up and start to act iffy morally. And she out smack talks Thor. The side plot of Angel's powers rapidly expanding goes on and the Shi'ar show up at the end to wreck shit.
X-men #31 - Wood continues to deliver solid old school style globe hopping adventures. I'm also really digging the covers of this run and the proto-mutants. Kinda headdesky that Storm's paranoia and indecision about which of her friends to to trust about the proto-mutants ends up biting her in the ass. Mostly because Storm is assertive enough to relay the news to both Cyclops and Wolverine and get them to settle their asses down until she takes care of the immediate threat.
X-men Legacy #269 - The clash we have all seen coming since AvX started and the one that makes sense narratively and character wise. Ms. Marvel and Rogue duke it out. And talk it out simultaneously. FOr the first time Carol articulates why the Avenger's are worried about the X-men using the Phoenix to fix the world. Not because "the Phoenix is bad mmkay?" but because even after doing something that selfless, the X-men aren't going to win everybody over and somebody is going to do something stupid to provoke them. And at the end it sidesteps the whole Carol and Rogue fight each other plot to force them to work together after one of the Phoenix Five overreacts to somebody(Carol) doing something stupid and chucks her in a Limbo prison. And the cover of Ms. Marvel fake ripping through the cover was great.
The Conductor Hrm. Out of continuity stories?
*Fantastic Four 1234 is pretty fantastic.
*Silver Surfer: Requiem is tear inducingly beautiful.
*Thor: The Mighty Avenger is pure Silver Age whimsy and fun.
*Nextwave too while we are at it. It's like Shakespeare! But with more punching. And the luziness of how despite being out of continuity everybody likes to pretend it happened in normal Marvel.
I really like Future Foundation, but for some reason my store never gets it. I've not had an issue since #16. So what's the deal with Spider-Man now? Did he leave the FF? Was he kicked out? Is he still knocking around?
Thanks, Alk, I read Requiem lately but I'll give the others a go!
Presumably he is still with the FF. I think after the whole mess of the Four Cities and the Mad Celestials and the council of Reeds he just took a break to fight psychotic lizard men in the sewers.
Wait you haven't read Nextwave yet?
Run man. Run out and fix this immediately. You must baptise your eyeballs and synapses in the distillation of the superhero genre and whatever crazy thing popped into Warren Ellis' head.
I had considered it, many times, but just never picked it up. Once I got paid, I reckon I will.
Speaking of comics, how is that Suffering Through Before Watchmen project coming along? I kinda want more of that. SInce my only exposure to the comics is seeing a ten year old kid want to buy a Comedian comic and watch the shop keeper try to talk his mom out of it, to no avail.
And hearing the guys at the comic shop go on about how Watchman is the greatest comic ever, which makes me want to buy my weeklies fast before I want to get into an argument with them and tie their beards and pony tails together and whip them in the sides with a trade and yell mush mush mush my panting steed while I assemble a neckbeard dog sled team.
It's on hiatus till next week, my store is running behind, but I looked at the first two or so issues. Though on my way home from the opticians I picked up The Hypernaturals #1. It was pretty good.
It was like Legion of Superheroes except not boring as all hell.
drugs
beautiful sexy samurai robot drugs
So right guys I had a cool idea to help clear out a little clutter in my house and possibly get some folks interested in comics. When I collect enough monthly issues of a series to form an arc, I bundle them together and geocache them somewhere. Tag a give me a read sticker on each set I guess.
So, first issue of Finder Vol 2 was...very relatable. >.>
Ayo.
It's Magri's story, though.
Ms. Marvel 8: FUCK. CIVIL. WAR. On the plus side, though, Carol seems to have realized that she's being a horrible human being, so maybe this is going somewhere good.
All-Star Western 10: After a pretty lackluster and forced last issue, ASW seems to be going somewhere as it ties in Snyder's excellent Batman arc with Hex and the history of Gotham, leading into a faceoff with an older and more secretive court of owls. There's also another woman who gets turned on by how rough Hex is, but she's an amusing enough character and Arkham being unable to properly deal with her is amusing, Unfortunately, the backup is utter garbage.
Batman Incorporated 2: Talia Al Ghul has always had an element of tragedy to her, being the daughter of Raz'z Al Ghul and in love with his enemy Batman. This paints a completely different picture of Talia, though. It focuses instead on a woman who had been manipulated and abused by her father to the point she isn't even sure if her feelings for the man she loves are genuine or another manipulation. It's a surprising and strong character piece that fills Talia with a fascinating bitterness and brilliance.
The Flash 10: A simple one-shot reintroducing the Weather Wizard. It's got a lot of fun action, slick art, and some nice character moments. It's worth checking out, but it won't blow anyone away.
Justice League Dark 10: Lemire clearly likes John Coinstantine. Not that I'm complaining, as he and Zatanna are the most interesting characters of the cast and John's a lot of fun to see him trying to play every angle and outwit the others. It's a game of minds that makes for fun. The shame of it is the two newest members are either dull or still don't have enough exploration as characters. That said, this is a nice bit that feels more along the lines of classic Hellblazer following last month's Indiana Jones.
The Amazing Spider-man 688: Winding down from the phenomenal Ends of The Earth, Slott begins a story that seems to be focusing on tying up loose ends: namely The Lizard (which I'm sure has nothing to do with the movie coming out!) and Morbius. The In Medias Res and time shifts are well utilized, the action is very satisfying, and Slott really understands the relationship between Peter and Mary Jane. It almost makes me think it was worth One More Day to see him explore their relationship with the complications of not dating. Almost.
Future Foundation 19: Being a small side-story to Fantastic Four's epic, this covers an adventure the kids have through Wakanda and outsmarting a bunch of crazy terrorists. It's a fun comic and it's something I could see helping a kid get into the Fantastic Four
The Mighty Thor 16: This comic is good and Fraction does a fun Enchantress but man do I wish they did more with Black Metal Thor.
Wolverine & The X-men 12: I like that we finally get some exploration on Rachel Grey, she's always been a character I've enjoyed reading and it's even fun to see her kicking ass with Bachalo's great art, but the issue never really addresses the elephant in the room that Rachel used to be Phoenix's host and she was fine. Man, I can't wait until this event ends.
Fatale 6: Beginning the second arc of Fatale we begin to get more mysterious noir happenings, including a seemingly innocent girl with destructive powers and how they come to Josephine. Like most noir, it's grim, moody, and an acquired taste which I enjoy,.
Should I?
do it foo'
do it hard
In which INUH learns what it feels to be reading Marvel back in 2006-ish.
Not quite. He doesn't have to deal with every title and their dog being delayed.
just wait till Comixology crashes again.
Ms. Marvel 9: This one starts off strong by having absolutely nothing to do with Civil War. It involves a lot of continuity I'm not familiar with, but it's all explained pretty well. Also, the comic book-y weirdness of this story allows a look at Carol's mindset that just wouldn't be possible otherwise. Very good. Just what was needed after that last arc.
Ms. Marvel 10: Good action, good character development. The arc wasn't going quite where I thought it was, but was very interesting, so no problems there.
Ms. Marvel 11: Carol gets a brief break from her life sucking, so naturally, some stuff happens to fix that. More continuity I'm unfamiliar with, but it's of the "I want to go back and read that" variety rather than the "I have no idea what's going on so I'll just put this book down" variety, so that's all good.
Ms. Marvel 12: I'll just quote two lines from the issue that should nicely explain why I like it so much:
And those were both before the holy-shit ending. That said, this issue features a couple of hilariously bad reaction faces.
In other news, I now have more of Ms. Marvel than of any other superhero comic, and more of it than any Western comic that isn't Usagi Yojimbo.
aren't cha happy about your loyalty to such a premiere title
-reads the description of the next issue-
-the first three words are "During CIVIL WAR,..."-
Oh, fucking hell.
Oh, wait. On the cover, she's holding Iron Man's severed head helmet. Maybe this won't suck...