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« May 2009 | Main | July 2009 » June 30, 2009SuperMegaSpeed Reviews Just about every comic i collect came out since my last review, so lots to go through... Captain Britain and MI13 #14 - So last issue was a fake-out as expected. This issue picked up a bit but i still won't be sorry to see it go. Daredevil #110 - This book is consistently good but not awesome. Brubaker's original 'DD in prison' story arc was awesome. It's been good since then, but not spectacular like that first arc or his Captain America. Guardians of the Galaxy #15 - Only one little panel with Cosmo and Lockjaw, but it was a good panel. Between the Starhawk plot, the Warlock/Magus plot, and the plots related to the War of the Kings, there's a lot going on in this book, but it's handled well. Hercules #130 - A little bit too much of a 're-telling of old myths' issue for my tastes. The series is actually feeling a little directionless right now, tell you the truth. Could just be this arc, but i'm not sure where they're going or what this series is about right now. Plus you've got Armless Tiger-Man just standing around not biting anything or attacking any machinery with a hammer held between his toes. It's a travesty. Nova #26 - Still not loving the new Worldmind, but otherwise this is great. Well, let me bitch a little more. I'm not thrilled that they're introducing Gladiator's cousin as a Supergirl analogue. The original Imperial Guard were based on the Legion of Super-Heroes. It was kind of a throwaway gag. But they stuck and now we've got a Superman (boy?) level character running around. Which is just really unbalancing from a power-level perspective. And now they're introducing another one. Anyway, it's a good book. Secret Warriors #5 - I'm not sure when Gabe became such a hard-ass. Give him back his horn and maybe he won't be so cranky. It's nice to see the Howlers getting the spotlight this issue. X-Force #16 - I was going to say that this was actually pretty good, but then i got to the ending. And it seems like nothing actually gets resolved. We don't find out why the girl was so important. Bishop isn't stopped. Basically nothing's changed. These are Cable plotlines so i don't really care other than the fact that my series got interrupted for the crossover, but i'm not sure what the point of all this was. War of the Kings: Ascension #3 - Holy crap! Everything i knew about Darkhawk was wrong! That totally blew my mind! The Hood #2 - I'm going to need to see a timeline to figure out where this takes place relative to the Hood's complete defeat in New Avengers and his (totally different, in tone and logistics) meetings with the rest of the Dark Illuminati in this book and in Dark Avengers. But i'm enjoying this. Dark Avengers #6 - The cover shows Marvel Boy fighting either an alien or Venom. But Marvel Boy doesn't even appear in this issue. It's all good, though, because Harry Osborn rules. I see that he even defaced Tony Stark's entire collection of Iron Man armor, turning them all into Iron Patriots. Dick. New Avengers #54 - I'm ambivalent about the Doctor Strange/Brother Voodoo development, partially because Voodoo's new accent grates on me and partially because i know that Doctor Strange will go back to being the sorcerer supreme soon enough. I also think if there was going to be a new sorcerer supreme it would go to a new initiate, like Strange and Mordo were back in the day, not an established sorcerer. But Spider-man is funny and the Osborn/Hawkeye media war is a nice touch and overall this is still a great series. Captain America #600 - Ok, but didn't Cap also get sniped through the back of the head by Crossbones? I didn't really love the tribute/jam issue but i guess it's just something you have to put up whenever a series reaches a round number. The back-up stories were pretty atrocious. I'm all for getting Roger Stern writing something but get him a decent artist and stop with these weird stories about his supporting characters from the late 70s/early 80s. The Golden Age reprint was just awesome though. Man, you thought the Red Skull was a menace before, just wait till you've seen him now that he's learned archery. He was shooting everything with those arrows; opening his mail, turning on the television, oh, and murdering people. I enjoyed the cover gallery but it makes it clear that they're counting the first 60 or so issues of Tales of Suspense before Cap ever appeared there. That's not new (i didn't complain when i bought issue #300 off the stands back in 1984, so i can't complain now), but it shows you how arbitrary these anniversaries are. By fnord12 | June 30, 2009, 10:49 PM | Comics| Link Lamest Coup Excuse Over the weekend the democratically elected president of Honduras, Manuel Zelaya, was taken out of power by the military. The AP article that first announced that ousting wouldn't actually call it a coup, and instead only said that the Zelaya was "calling it" a coup. The first sentence in the article also made the point of announcing that Zelaya was an ally of Hugo Chavez, as if that made it ok. So we knew from the beginning that this was going to be a weird one. The Obama administration has denounced the takeover but is also refusing to call it a coup. A website called BoRev.net (found via Digby) has compiled the weirdest of the coup-deniers and made a contest out of it. You can go there to vote for your favorite, but they're all pretty warped. By fnord12 | June 30, 2009, 12:03 PM | Liberal Outrage| Link
Do they have attitude? Russian energy company Gazprom merges with Nigerian state energy company. The result: Nigaz. By fnord12 | June 26, 2009, 11:46 PM | Ummm... Other?| Link
Hulk 'n' Beans The Hulk and i share a love:    By fnord12 | June 25, 2009, 8:50 PM | Comics| Link Ooh, baby, look at you You'll dance to anything Don't try to tell me that you're an intellectual Know what you are? You're a bunch of ... You'll dance to anything by The Communards You'll dance to anything by any bunch of stupid Europeans who come over here By fnord12 | June 25, 2009, 8:39 AM | Music| Link
fnordstitute* Min and i will be gone until Monday enjoying Nearfest, so we leave you with these words of wisdom: *amalgam of fnord and substitute, not fnord and prostitute By fnord12 | June 18, 2009, 2:38 PM | My stupid life | Comments (5) | Link Headline: Jobless benefit rolls drop sharply to nearly 6.7M "It is unlikely that new hiring has picked up in any meaningful fashion," Joshua Shapiro, chief economist with MFR Inc., a consulting firm, wrote in a note to clients. "More probable is that long-term unemployed are starting to fall off the rolls." Yaaay!! By fnord12 | June 18, 2009, 10:47 AM | Liberal Outrage | Comments (1) | Link A nightmare of you I try to think It tells me how it feels to be new By fnord12 | June 18, 2009, 9:05 AM | Music| Link
Whoodwin? By fnord12 | June 17, 2009, 9:28 PM | Whoodwin| Link
Incompetence My takeaway from this is that the plan will work of the public option and mandates are left in, but health care proponents just handed a huge PR victory to their opponents due to their lack of confidence or willingness to stand up for their ideals. My spin on this would be "Look, we tried to take the public plan out and it's just way too expensive without it." By fnord12 | June 16, 2009, 1:28 PM | Liberal Outrage| Link What's tatos? Tato skins got baked potato appeal, cause they're made with potatos and skins that are real. By fnord12 | June 16, 2009, 10:34 AM | Ummm... Other?| Link
Calls for Shepard Smith to be fired I don't know how he's stayed on at Fox as long as he has. By fnord12 | June 12, 2009, 4:55 PM | Liberal Outrage| Link That's one way to make a quota I don't know why they even felt the need to Photoshop this picture. By fnord12 | June 12, 2009, 4:46 PM | Ummm... Other?| Link I could use this By fnord12 | June 12, 2009, 11:51 AM | Comics & My stupid life| Link
Supporting the Public Plan MoveOn has a petition to members of Congress supporting the Progessive Caucus' demand that that any healthcare reform include a Public Option. By fnord12 | June 11, 2009, 1:01 PM | Liberal Outrage| Link Random Lyrics Thursday Today's RLTh has an accompanying (fan-made) video, thanks to Joshua. The elusive butterfly has just tiptoed past my door The amenities of life have been chasing my soul Sailing, sailing, what is illusion, what is truth? Bom-idda-bom a dang a dang dang I was on a QUEST They looked up at me and said "Hey Mister, are you tall?" I said "Hey, hey, weird little wonders, I am on a quest. "Slow down mister. In order to find the truth of life, one must Such predicaments! I must forage ahead! Alright, tighten your shorts pilgrim, and sing like the Duke: Well, I got a little bit tired. Along came this old man in a green El Dorado two He said "hey, slow down, relax!" How profound, Wizard! Some girl with psychic powers, she said "T-bone, what's your Really Butte, Montana... is as plain as heebie-jeebies... la-la-la-la-la-la-la EXISTENTIAL BLUES By fnord12 | June 11, 2009, 8:34 AM | Music| Link
SuperMegaSpeed Reviews Captain Britain and MI13 Annual #1 - Well god help anyone who doesn't already know who Meggan is, cause this book sure isn't going to tell you. I read the Claremont issues of Excalibur and i still don't really know what this issue was getting at. And i didn't really love the "council of devils" or whatever it was. I think Hela and Pluto, for example, don't really rule a version of "Hell" exactly, and Dormammu definitely not, so it doesn't really make sense that they'd all sit around a table together. I know it's metaphorical and all, but it didn't really work for me. But that was the least of the book's problems. It just jumped around from scene to scene without any cohesiveness or context. The cricket scene at the end was actually pretty good, though. War of the Kings #4 - A nice twisty development that Lilandra isn't automatically welcomed back by her people. I've been complaining about that this book isn't as good as its tie-ins, but this issue was fine. I have something of an overall complaint with the whole crossover and it's that there either isn't enough or there's too much direct crossing over between the main series and the tie-ins. It's right on the cusp. Marvel has done sort of passive crossovers in the past where the tie-in books don't directly relate to the main series, so if you're not getting them you don't lose anything and it's not too important where exactly they occur, but if you are getting them it adds some depth. And of course the other option is the really tight part x of y crossover where they tell you exactly where the issue fits into the overall issue. But in this series, we have the pretty major development of the entire Inhuman Royal Family and the Kree Imperial Guard all showing up in the Guardians of the Gaxay's base at the same time. But that obviously hasn't happened yet in the main series, and i'm a little unsure about when it will occur. I'm sure it will be addressed. But it's a little hazy and seems out of sequence. Dark Avengers #5 - It's good! I thought the Osborn interview was fairly realistic and i could see how people could buy the spin. The Sentry scene was good too. Do you know i see a lot of people who don't like the Sentry because he's too "emo"? Of course, he's not "emo" at all. He's mentally ill. I can see not liking him because he's too obvious of a Superman-with-a-twist, or because he's way too powerful, or because he's a continuity insert. But at least understand what the character is. Agents of Atlas #6 - Also good! Nice handling of Namor. The bit with the aemones was very funny. I'm pretty sure this is my current favorite book. By fnord12 | June 9, 2009, 10:27 PM | Comics| Link Above all else, let no photos be seen. MyDD: By fnord12 | June 9, 2009, 10:20 PM | Liberal Outrage| Link Marvel Sales At the high end for a classic novel adaptation, perhaps proving the power of a good cover. By fnord12 | June 9, 2009, 3:44 PM | Comics| Link Host in the Post By min | June 9, 2009, 11:49 AM | Ummm... Other?| Link
Despite it all, they seem to be doing just fine* Unfortunately for us all, their proposed cuts are even stupider than I'd ever imagined: Vote Republican: We'll save money by letting your children get crushed by cars! We need a better opposition party. Is anyone thinking of reconstituting the Whigs? *If judged by percent of media time devoted to their spokespeople. By fnord12 | June 4, 2009, 5:42 PM | Liberal Outrage| Link All dressed in uniforms so fine, They walked in line, They carried pictures of their wives, Full of a glory never seen, They walked in line, By fnord12 | June 4, 2009, 8:45 AM | | Link
SuperMegaSpeed Reviews Agents of Atlas #5 - The Avengers were very well handled here. Great characterization, especially of Spider-Man (Using his science knowledge to figure out that something was fishy, and "Hey, i have to eat"). Reasonable use of Wolverine's power levels. Good balanced fight. Min complains that they always have the ladies fighting other ladies, but i almost think in this case it's more reflective of the fact that the ladies (Ms. Marvel and Namora) are the powerhouses of their respective groups. Anyway, love the intrigue, love the crazy characters, good plotting, etc., etc. Let's you and i just admit that this is a great book and leave it at that. The Hood #1 - So far it's more of a full Masters of Evil (or whatever they are) book than just a Hood story, but that's fine with me. More great characterization from Parker. I'm not so sure about the character who shows up at the end being an interesting antagonist for this series, but that's just based on the costume design, so we'll see where it goes. Captain Britain and MI13 #13 - There's something just wrong with this book. Not sure if it's the pacing or the dialogue or what, but it's just dull. All this stuff is happening that should be awesome if you think about it but it all comes across as just bleh, here's what's happening now, moving on to the next scene. Plus everyone just seems incompetent, to the point where i'm thinking it's misdirection for next issue. In any event, it's missing some kind of oomph. Captain America #50 - They're totally cheating with the numbers because this issue they get to celebrate issue 50 and next issue it seems they're reverting to the old numbering system and celebrating issue #600. But it's a nice character issue for Bucky. Sets off my panic button a bit because if they're giving him such a retrospective now, it could be because they're ready to bring back the real Cap, and i think it's too soon for that. I really liked the bit with the gun, though. Still miss Epting on art, especially since they seem to be inking and coloring as if it was Epting and it just comes off looking like bad Epting, and i'm sure Luke Ross would actually be a good artist if he was drawing in his own style. Guardians of the Galaxy #14 - Seriously, who needs the actual War of the Kings mini? Everything's happening right here. Good stuff. I like the foreshadowing of Warlock turning into Magus, and i'm looking forward to the Cosmo/Lockjaw meeting next issue. Nova #25 - So the answer is, Ego has possessed the Worldmind. I like it (and appreciate the footnote!), but i still say it was unclear from the end of the last issue. I'm glad Nova is done being Quasar, even though i liked seeing Rich Rider using the powers - especially using his old bedroom as his visualization of a 'safe place'. Not thrilled with the idea of the Worldmind having to update its personality as a result of having been compromised by Ego. I liked the old personality and i think the new one won't have as fun a dynamic in its interactions with Nova. Still, good book, as always. New Avengers #53 - Wo, dere! Brudder Voodoo! What 'da hell is wrong wit' you people? Tings are pretty bad dere, but dere is some hope of a consteetutional seddlement! I guess he would talk kinda like that, but he never did in the past. I was a little impressed with (what i thought was) the misdirection last time. They went to New Orleans and instead of Brother Voodoo, they showed Daimon Hellstorm instead. But in the end Brother Voodoo shows up after all. This was a great issue. Madame Masque was a total badass standing on that roof firing those guns. Great art. I liked the silhouetted fight scene with Spider-Woman. And again, i liked seeing Wolverine get shot up and not instantly recover. Something to do with Tom Brevoort's recent post on Wolvie? I thought Bucky-Cap trying to hand out Masque's guns after the fight was hilarious, even if Bucky probably isn't all that oblivious to how modern super-heroes operate at this point. Very good book. Put Billy Tan on my new favorite artists list. Hercules #129 - Oh boy. Sure this issue was cute. But most of you people have no idea what you're in for next issue. I'm talking about Armless Tiger Man. Oh yeah. (And i hope Jack of Hearts isn't really coming back.) Secret Warriors #4 - This was more of a Nick Fury issue than anything. But that's not a bad thing. Hey, is that the first time that Gateway has ever talked? War of Kings: Ascension #2 - Still not sure why i'm reading a Darkhawk comic book. "Everything you know about Darkhawk is wrong!". Honestly, i didn't really know anything about Darkhawk. X-Force #15 - Well, we blew it on this crossover. We're missing out on half the story. I still don't care much about this plotline, and i'm not sure if the writers really know what they're doing. Bishop just looks completely incompetent in his failure to kill the kid. So it doesn't bother me too much. This is really a Cable plot that is being dumped into X-Force for no good reason. But it's definitely disorienting to be missing every other issue, even if i'm sure that the Cable parts wouldn't be very good. Still, the Deadpool scenes are funny and i like the Angel/Apocalypse interaction, so we'll muddle through. I really enjoyed seeing the retro ad of Jim Shooter and the Marvel Try-Out book. You know who won that contest? Mark Bagley, that's who. The Evil Knievel ad was a little less interesting. But are these retro ads really just because they're celebrating their 70th anniversary, or is Marvel having trouble selling ad space? By fnord12 | June 2, 2009, 10:18 PM | Comics| Link Bionic Commando No one told me they were coming out with a sequel to Bionic Commando. I had to read about it in a DC comic ad. Not only that, but here i am looking for screenshots and what do i find but Bionic Commando Rearmed. You people should be ashamed of yourselves, keeping me in the dark like that. By fnord12 | June 2, 2009, 9:19 AM | Video Games | Comments (2) | Link |