For a while i held out and didn't get any of the newer Marvel toys because they're a larger scale than the figures i have. But then they release The Watcher, who is supposed to be big, so i got him. Then they released Blackheart, who is actually a crappy character but i got him anyway. Then i reasoned that Power Man can be bigger than the average figure cause he's a big guy (and my old Power Man figure is awful). Then i saw that they put out a figure of the original Baron Zemo, and you can't pass that up (although now i have giant-father Baron Zemo, and tiny-son Baron Zemo from the Secret Wars line). But now the floodgates are open and anything can happen, so there's The Sentry, too.
Ugly or gigantic?
Daddy and 'Lil Nazi
Actually, these new figures are kind of crappy. The Blackheart figure can't even stand (his tail is propping him up against the wall in this picture). The others are only slightly more stable. Baron Zemo's arm feels really delicate and almost broken, and he looks crippled. Power Man's fist is molded into a weird position - and it's the one place on a 40+ point of articulation figure that i can't adjust. And these points of articulation are way overboard - it just means that they bend funny and have weird seams and lines in odd places on their bodies.
Eh, but they're Marvel toys so i like 'em anyway.
By fnord12 | October 29, 2006, 9:03 PM | Comics|Link
Doctor Strange: The Oath #1 -
Having just read all of the second Runaways series and now this, Brian Vaughan is becoming one of my favorite writers. Great characterization of Strange and his relationship with Wong (the scene where Strange is opening to portal oblivious to Wong's fight is classic). The opening scene with Iron Fist and Arana is also great. Nice art, too. I'm wary of cure for cancer stories because the audience knows ahead of time that nothing can come of it or it would alter the MU's status quo too drastically from the real worlds (yeah, they can have super heroes, but they can't have a cure for cancer or you'd wind up with a world that is no longer "our world but with super heroes". It's the same reason everyone doesn't have unstable molecule clothes and Pym particles), but i think i can get past that. It'd be a shame to lose Wong as a supporting character, though.
Ant-Man #1 -
This could be good, too. Kirkman wrote the fun Marvel Team-Up trades that i enjoyed (except for the third one, but that's because it's an alternate future story), so i expect this'll be a cute/fun story as well. Shrinking super powers are never very exciting but the twist this time is that Ant Man will be more self-interested than a traditional super hero, which should be good. But despite a lot happening this issue, i think it's too soon to say for sure. The idea of average SHIELD soldiers thinking Nick Fury could be an urban legend is pretty funny.
Beyond #4 -
So they remembered the Limbo thing, which means this story has to take place at some time when Spider-Man was wearing his original costume. I'm enjoying this a lot, but i'm trying to figure out where it's going considering it's issue 4 of 6 already. From the interview i read, the idea was to explore issues that Shooter talked about but never developed in the original Secret Wars. So far it's been pretty much focused at the micro-level with a bunch of characters barely off the transporter and their personal squabbles. The revelation that the Beyonder has been doing this Battleworld concept continuously for a long time is an interesting retcon (hopefully negating Secret Wars II as well as Defalco's cosmic cube debacle), and the idea that Immortus would bargain with the Beyonder by "giving" him the Space Phantom is also an interesting development, but i can't imagine what will come of it. Which is good, i guess, because it means the plot isn't predicatable and the writing is good enough that i'm enjoying it along the way.
Fantastic Four #540 -
This issue really felt like filler. I like the sequence in Civil War #4 better: Sue is not happy with the way things are going, and then Clor or Thone, whichever you prefer, kills Bill Foster, which is the final straw for her. She doesn't fight with Reed about it, but takes off in the night after leaving a note telling him to "fix" it. This issue doesn't really add anything to that but inserts a fight that they have prior to the battle. I think. It's hard to tell exactly because it seems clear that she is leaving here, but she is back in time to go to the big battle in CW4 and then leaves again? Or this takes place after the battle, and then they have the fight, and then she comes back, makes him dinner, etc, and then writes the note and leaves for real this time? It's a confusing sequence. I'll have to check the recent ASM issue to see where that fits in the overall timeline since there is overlap between the titles again. Maybe that will help. In any event i don't feel like Sue and Reed's fight here adds anything to the overall impact of Sue leaving. It was more poignant the other way.
Been real busy lately so i asked some guy from the Newsarama message boards to do my reviews:
Civil War #4 - God how could they do this? This is lazy, decompressed story telling. Nothing ever happens. Except bad things. How could they kill Bill Foster? Don't they have any respect for these characters? And they don't even tell us who the guy in the mask is. So confusing. Marvel will do anything to make money, even if it means writing intricately plotted stories built on accurate characterizations.
Astonishing X-Men #14 - This is such a re-tread of Uncanny X-Men 133. Can't Joss Whedon write anything original? I mean, it's the same exact story, except this time it's Kitty who's fighting the Hellfire Club, and it's a different Hellfire Club, and a totally different plot, but other than that, it's a total rip-off.
Heroes For Hire #2 - Iron Man would never call a guy who dresses like a bug and talks to bugs "creepy". It just shows that the two sides in Civil War aren't balanced. And Misty Knight and Coleen Wing are written and drawn like 70s exploitation characters!??!!!
Cable & Deadpool #32 - If Marvel isn't going to take this book seriously then why should i? God, i just hate comic books. Sometimes i wonder why i even collect comic books. But it's better to bitch about stuff on the internet than to just give up. If i keep whining, someday they'll write the books exactly the way i think i want. But i still won't be happy.
Amazing Spider-Man 535 - They're building a prison in the Negative Zone and they don't even mention what's going on in Annihilation? I remember when Marvel used to care about continuity. And why can't these liberal writers leave their politics out of comics? Comics should be a place where i am only presented with ideas that i agree with. If Straczynski doesn't like Guantanamo Bay why doesn't he just move to Cuba?
Eternals #4 - Jack Kirby must be rolling in his grave.
Runaways #20 - I don't even know who these characters are. Whatever happened to the Micronauts?
