"No longer like a toad in these foul cellars will I secret the venom of hatred -- for you shall bring me love!" - Erik
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« Comics: February 2008 | Main | Comics: April 2008 » Comics Forget the Halloween costumes; i want a series about three crime fighting midgets whose powers were derived from Cap, Spidey, and the Hulk. Look at the arms on those "kids", they are hella strong. And yes, the "Hulk" midget will wear a picture of his face on his shirt. These guys are awesome. Actually, considering the bags of loot they're holding, maybe they're bad guys? I predict a run-in with Roughouse and Bloodsport. "Hold, my fine fanged friend! Methinks these be not babies after all!" Also: "Camp it up as Capt. America"? What the hell does that mean? By fnord12 | March 27, 2008, 9:03 AM | Comics | Comments (2)| Link Incredible Hercules #115 - I was kind of hoping Cho would go the supervillain route. Hercules talking him down is more conventional, but it was still done well. The development of Hercules' back story - something that didn't even seem possible since his myths are pretty much what they are - is being done very well. Captain America #36 - Missing Epting's art just a little bit but it's still good. I wonder if the Winter Soldier's more violent approach to fighting (including, but not just referring to, guns and knives) is something Brubaker is setting up in a negative light, or just a way to distinguish him from Cap. I thought the failed inspirational speech was a great moment. And of course the cliffhanger - wasn't expecting that so soon. Order #9 - I was expecting a downgrade in quality now that they're cramming everything in to finish up the story before it is cancelled after next issue, but it's still OK. Not great, but not bad. Iron Fist #13 - This really is a great book, and since i'm currently reading the original Iron Fist stories as part of my marvel timeline project, it's nice to see that things are well researched as well. Looking forward to the big kung fu ass kicking next issue. Iron Man #27 - I am enjoying the politics of this (although a part of me wonders why Norman Osborn gets to have anything to do with an inquiry on SHIELD's actions - especially since it was originally the UN that performed the 'arrest). I also liked the mental fake out the Mandarin pulled - i suspected it but the delivery was still unexpected. But was anyone else fooled by the preview for Secret Invasion - i just assumed it was part of the Iron Man story and was wondering how the hell Tony could be in a lab with Reed and Hank when he's supposed to be dealing with the fallout/arrest. By fnord12 | March 24, 2008, 1:00 PM | Comics | Link  Tom Tomorrow's comic is related to this feature in Slate where "liberal" hawks explain their rational in supporting the Iraq invasion five years ago. Tim Noah's article is the best of those, since he actually admits he was wrong and correctly wonders why the people who got it so wrong five years ago are still the ones with prominent columns and frequent television appearances. The same should apply on economic news - all the economists who discounted the warnings about the housing bubble should no longer be the go-to experts for journalists writing articles on the economy, and yet the same people who didn't predict the bubble are the ones who are now being asked what the impact will be and how long the recession will last. By fnord12 | March 24, 2008, 12:25 PM | Comics & Liberal Outrage | Link Directed by the guy who directed Shaun of the Dead. It's be nice if O'Malley finishes the series before the movie is made, unless this movie is the first part of a series. By fnord12 | March 21, 2008, 9:45 AM | Comics
& Movies | Link Rick Jones, sidekick to the stars, has learned a lot from the heroes he's partnered with. From Captain America he learned his fighting techniques. From Captain Mar-vell he learned military tactics and information about all the star-faring races. From ROM he learned that even walking toasters can be awesome. But what did he learn from his first partner, the Incredible Hulk? Answer: how to take a hit from a 3-ton monster and not get your neck snapped. Look at this history of abuse:      Although to be fair, he did try to help Rick sometimes, too:  By fnord12 | March 20, 2008, 2:01 PM | Comics | Comments (1)| Link These are both from the August 93 print date. Picture #1:  Maybe i'm overly sensitive, but this poor lady doesn't look like she wants to be posing in a bikini. I have a feeling she was a moderately attractive woman working with a bunch of shut-in Marvel staff geeks on the Swimsuit Issue project (a disturbing idea in its own right), and they badgered her into doing this. Picture #2:  The "joke" here seems to be that an underaged girl took her two younger brothers on a tour of the Marvel offices, and all the staff thought she was really hot. Is that something you'd want to admit to in print? Am i missing something? By fnord12 | March 18, 2008, 2:18 PM | Comics | Comments (1)| Link It's been a while since i've done my comic reviews here. I've got a very large stack, and we're going to go through it very quickly. Iron Fist: Orson Randall & the Green Mist of Death #1 - When i say this is "like Sandman" i don't really mean that it's up to that level of quality, although it's quite good. I just mean that the writers are building this big mystical backstory. It's quite good. Iron Man #29 - Basically an old school fight between Iron Man & the Mandarin, to the point where we even have IM in his old armor. It's done very very well, and there are really good character moments for Maria Hill and Dum Dum Dugan as well. And i'm really liking the art. Logan #1 - Average and unnecessary, but it's Vaughn so i'll stick it out for the remaining two issues. There's no way that pregnancy can be good news, whatever comes of it. Mighty Avengers #9 - Well, i was worried that the Doom story would be treated as a quick flash in the pan story like the Venom arc was but A) It's not and B) it turns out that the Venom arc and the Doom arc are actually tied together, which is really nice. I like the angle that Doom was not actually responsible for the attack (although suggesting that Doom's equipment wouldn't have security measures in place to prevent such an accident could be dangerous!). The Morgan Le Fey/Doom stuff in the beginning was really good, too. But - and i know we're running late and trying to catch up - 3 two-page panels of the avengers fighting a bunch of robots is just ridiculous. Order #8 - It's not bad now that i'm thinking of it as a mini-series. Punisher War Journal #17 - Wow, Sunset Bain. Cool. Stuart Clarke is a nut and i enjoyed the focus on him. Chaykin's art wasn't bad. Captain America #35 - Brubaker on Cap 4Ever! ClanDestine #2 - Ye gods, not the Cross-Time Caper! I'll be honest, while i don't really care where this story is going, i enjoy letting Alan Davis take us there. He's really good at what he does. I think i need to fill in my Excalibur collection. Daredevil #105 - Is there any horrible thing we haven't done to Matt Murdock yet? Incredible Hercules #114 - apparently this is really a Hercules book now permanently? You know, i'm OK with that. Because Hercules is more mainstream than the Hulk, because he was an Avengers longer, and all i care about is how mainstream things are. Runaways #29 - Who are these people? She-Hulk #26 - I'm starting to think that getting this book was a mistake. Thunderbolts: International Incident #1 - Very good for a fill in. My geeky question is where does this Arnim Zola appearance fit in with his regular appearances in Captain America? Also, get Gage on a regular book! Preferably something mainstream. Damage Control #2 - Honestly, i haven't liked the previous Damage Control minis very much because they've been too silly and the art has been overly exaggerated comedic art. This series avoids all of that and it turns out to be a good story that also has some satirical elements. We need to woo McDuffie back to Marvel. X-Force #2 - Magus. Awesome. People mocked me for wanting to get this X-Force book, but it's been really good, in my opinion. Nimrod! Magus! And a good black ops story. I have no problem with the art, it's a little stiff, but the storytelling is still good and the pictures look good. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Nextwave (1st two trades) - Reading it as a non-continuity satire, it's pretty good. Some great moments and pretty good overall. Robot brains that need beer, Elvis-MODOKs, Fing Fang Foom put you in his pants!, misogynist Captain America - all very funny. I don't necessarily see it as Ellis hating super-heroes so much as wanting to write a big dumb action movie and also poke a little fun at super-hero conventions. But there's too many continuity errors and deliberate mischaracterizations to consider this as part of the MU. Thunderbolts (1st trade) - This was really good. The characterization of Osborne was awesome. Ellis' depiction of Screaming Mimi as a real field leader was great. Bullseye was appropriately dangerous. And the characterization of the lesser-know unregistered heroes in the story was great too. I still don't like that Venom is actually the Scorpion. It just seems stupid to me, and every time i see Venom i can't help think "Yeah, but that's not the real Venom", although Ellis does a good job with him as well. Deodato's art is great, too. It's funny how Deodato was basically a joke for a while but has really restored his reputation. I thought the fact that they included all the weird one-shots in the back was kind of annoying, especially since the one written by Jenkins actually wasn't terrible, and i would have preferred if they had stuck it where it belonged in the story. Welcome to Tranquility (1st trade) - Not great. We need to woo Gail Simone back to Marvel so she can write Runaways. Pride of Baghdad - Enjoyable, but i'm glad i didn't spend a lot of money to buy the hardcover version. Vaughan is a good writer and i'm glad he is able to do little stories like this. Nice art, too. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Annihilation: Conquest #5 - Nice to see the tie-in with Ultron's recent appearance in Mighty. I was afraid they were just going to say that it was two separate iterations of Ultron with no connection. And i still love Star-Lord's misfit team. This has been a cool mini. Nova #11 - Yes! This is what i've been telling them to do all along! Awesome! It's interesting that we've got Magus in X-Force and Warlock here. It'd be really odd if it were just a coincidence. Avengers: The Initiative #10 - Why did this feel like I was missing a New Warriors crossover issue? I'm enjoying this, but i think we need to hurry up now and move past this KIA plot. Taskmaster and Ant-Man bonding was funny. Fantastic Four #555 - Nice that they are using Claremont's Alissa Moy character instead of adding more bloat to Reed's backstory. The Reed/Moy relationship is being developed very nicely. Mighty Avengers #10 - i enjoyed the "70s era comic" gimmick. I really like Doom here, and i enjoyed the captions showing the undercurrent war between Doom and Iron Man's armor systems. Using the Sentry and the idea that everyone would forget all his actions as a way to solve their dilemma was a really clever move by Bendis. Doom showing respect to Mastermind was cool. Last Defenders #1 - well, this wasn't very good at all. The characterization was stiff and dry and the story wasn't very interesting. The Blazing Skull character is just annoying. Still to read: Powers, Sub-Mariner, Omac. Overall, it was a very impressive pile of comic books. I like comic books. By fnord12 | March 15, 2008, 3:05 PM | Comics | Link There's been a lot of debate lately on whether Nazis or Commies made better comic book villians, and the consensus has generally been falling on the side of the Nazis. But did the Nazis ever have super-gorilla soldiers?!?*  *Probably, but the Commies had them too, dammit. By fnord12 | March 13, 2008, 10:48 AM | Comics | Comments (1)| Link ...but apparently he's also a hack. A good hack, mind you. By fnord12 | March 12, 2008, 4:28 PM | Comics | Comments (2)| Link By fnord12 | March 12, 2008, 4:24 PM | Comics | Link Is this (scroll down to "Proof That Cyclops Is A Skrull, or That Ed Brubaker Is Lazy") continuity getting in the way of telling a good story? Is it continuity preventing comics from being accessible to new readers? Or is it just a failure to check your references? P.S. I'm currently reading Nextwave and there's no way it can be canon. It's got to be read as an out-of-continuity satire book (in which case it's pretty good). By fnord12 | March 12, 2008, 3:27 PM | Comics | Comments (1)| Link January. Late due to an initial problem with the reported numbers. By fnord12 | March 11, 2008, 3:02 PM | Comics | Link As long as it was just the one comic with a loose centerfold problem, there was a chance that maybe, just maybe, Marvel might produce replacements. But if it's more widespread than that, the likelihood that Marvel would essentially reissue a week's worth of new books is incredibly small. Maybe I'll be surprised, but I'm not betting on it. I know, this isn't what you wanted out of a post entitled "loose centerfolds" but my copy of Clan Destine was "iffy", and it's interesting to see that it wasn't just the usual "gorillas handle my comics before they get to me" situation. By fnord12 | March 10, 2008, 10:24 AM | Comics | Link A little known power of Iceman's:  (From X-Men #6, Jul 64) By fnord12 | March 5, 2008, 11:21 AM | Comics | Comments (5)| Link  If a pitch like this works for a two-bit villain like the Vanisher, imagine how well it'd work for a real super-villain like min. (From X-Men #2, Nov 63) By fnord12 | March 4, 2008, 3:01 PM | Comics | Comments (1)| Link  Norrin Radd encounters the evil bunny doctor in Silver Surfer #7 (Aug 69) By fnord12 | March 4, 2008, 10:39 AM | Comics | Link |