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It seems that I am starting this late compared to other recent editions but really it’s only Sunday afternoon as I start this. This was yet another slow week which is something I will never complain about. There was one representative from Vertigo, 2 from DC, and 10 from Marvel which totals to only 13 books.
Spoiler Alert
Vertigo
-Northlanders #25- The village has been decimated by Gunborg, who is just killing people at will now and is going mad with power. Hilda is left alone for the most part until Jens shows up again, steals her daughter and demands she walk to his house naked in order to see her alive again. I love how the backdrop of this terrible plague and crazed Gunborg is playing in the background as we feature the very real story of Hilda just trying to survive as a widowed woman in a world that is completely male-dominated. 1/1.
DC
-Green Lantern #52- The awesomeness continues with the new White Lantern – Sinestro. He’s seemingly destroyed by Nekron but you can’t destroy the light and Sinestro is not done yet. There’s a really cool origin of Ion, and Parallax, as well as the other avatars of the different Lanterns. While Sinestro and Hal are busy on Earth, John Stewart and the rest of the Lanterns are busy destroying the planet of Xanshi. This is really heading to a fantastic final issue of Blackest Night. 1/1.
-Superman/Batman #70- Batman and Superman continue dealing with this alien that has come back to kill Superman and all Kryptonians. I am assuming this is out of continuity because isn’t there a WHOLE PLANET OF KRYPTONIANS? Anyway, Superman fights NRG-X while Batman goes to the aliens’ ship to fight him. This isn’t really setting the world on fire and I can’t stand how Superman/Batman never really makes it clear it is out of continuity or even where the story would be placed in terms of the DCU. 1/2.
Marvel
-Amazing Spider-Man #626- This is a calm before the storm issue as Spider-Man just deals with being out of work. He follows Michelle’s new friend to the Hood’s hideout as a new scorpion is about to be crowned. Spidey runs into the new Scorpion, who leaves him powerless for a bit. Long story short, Peter ends up saving Michelle’s life and Michelle realizes that trusting people as a lawyer isn’t always the best thing to do. This at least smoothes things over between the two. The last page shows the Scorpion delivering the suit she stole to the Kraven family. I appreciate Gaydos’ art but I don’t think this issue was the right fit for him. I just wasn’t feeling this story. 0/1.
-Breaking Into Comics The Marvel Way #’s 1 and 2 - I figured I’d pair these two together since my feelings on the two are the same. These are just short 5-7 page stories featuring new artists with scripts by Marvel pro’s. The real cool part are the last few pages where some of the artists talk about how they got into the business and CB Cebulski talking about his advice he gives to up and comic artists. The stories all took place in the past so that they were harmless tales and the artists featured weren’t too bad. I didn’t know that was the direction this book was going. I thought it was going to be nothing but tips and ideas and not showcasing new talent. I found it enjoyable to check out some new artists and the comments section in the back (especially #2) were great to read. Both were good and it’s a two-point effort here. 2/3.
-Captain America #604- Fake Cap makes Bucky put on the Bucky outfit and their plan is revealed. The train loaded with bombs that Falcon is on (and escapes from) is being sent on a one-way collision course to a political gathering which is just a distraction for Cap’s real plan – to destroy the Hoover Dam! The Nomad/Arana back-up was little more than serviceable (a werewolf attacks, Nomad is stuck in a gas chamber and Arana breaks in to find her passed out). The lead-story is that good that it doesn’t push this into bad territory. I really love how things are progressing here with Fake Cap. 3/4.
-Deadpool #20- Deadpool is hell-bent on taking out Hit Monkey and creates a crazy plan. He dresses up as Spider-Man and pretends he’s dead to draw out a remorseful Hit Monkey (who thinks he’s the one who killed Spidey). Well, out pops Deadpool and they fight, leading to a huge explosion. Hit Monkey is gone and Deadpool leaves New York. The ending sequence with Spider-Man telling Deadpool the difference between being a hero and being cheered like a hero was a good piece of writing from Way. 4/5.
-Marvels Project #7- So Namor is imprisoned but he’s not talking. The Nazi War Machine is still churning and who is that blue guy John Steele spies the Red Skull talking to? Cap and Bucky themselves stop some blue guys who live undersea and they think they finally have a way to make Namor talk. I love how the origin of the Destroyer is thrown in and this is really cementing those early Golden Age tales and bringing them all together into one universe. 5/6.
-Peter Parker #1- I thought I’d pick this up to see what was going on. It turns out that this was reprinted from Marvel’s Digital Comics and drawn by one of my favorite Spidey artists, Pat Olliffe. It follows the life of Peter Parker and we see him trying to get $600 to repaint his apartment. There’s an ongoing story of some tabloid star whose manager aligned her with JJJ and some high school kids are planning some sort of plot. I didn’t think the story was too coordinated for the comic books but I can see the benefits of it as a weekly comic online. There’s a cool Fred Hembeck story featuring Peter Parker teaming up with Johnny Storm before they were heroes. I have to say that this did its job because I’m actually interested in signing up for the Digital Comics Unlimited. 6/7.
-The Stand: Soul Survivors #5- We end the first half of the story. Mother Abagail and Nick Andros decide they will head west all based on the two dreams they are having. Meanwhile, Stu, Frannie and their group are headed to Nebraska. One of their own falls victim to an appendicitis and the gang has to operate on him. They fail and he dies and this causes the woman who was with him to kill herself. Frannie and Stu embrace and this just further angers an already jealous Harold. We have an afterword from Mike Perkins and Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa about the halfway point. If the second half is anything like the first half we should be in for an amazing journey. 7/8.
-Uncanny X-Men #522- Magneto brings Shadowcat back to Earth and the X-Men go about trying to keep the fact that a huge bullet is heading towards the Earth a secret (which angers Reed Richards). Magneto severely weakens himself doing this but Kitty is back! Unfortunately, she can’t unphase. The last few pages were silent and just brought the point home of the impact of what went on. The back-up was a cool one of a planet being afraid about the giant bullet heading towards it and the craziness that ensues, only to be saved by Kitty’s phasing. I’m happy that Kitty is back and it didn’t take away from the Astonishing X-Men ending because she never died. I thought this was a great issue. 8/9.
-X-Factor #203- Monet had gone to find her father but we learn from the events of this issue that the plane had been destroyed and she was kidnapped by Baron Mordo. Strong Guy looks for Monet and gets a lead, heading out to Mordo’s lair and facing some nameless one creatures. This Mordo inclusion intrigues me. I had no problems with this one. 9/10.
The Bottom Line
I thought this was a really interesting week of comics. Northlanders from Vertigo has always been great and Blackest Night (for the most part) has delivered. Superman/Batman was disappointing and it snapped DC’s perfect points streak at 4 weeks. Marvel had some interesting issues. I thought Spider-Man missed the mark but that was the only sour point. Breaking Into Comics was enjoyable, the X-Titles were both great, the Stand kicked ass and Brubaker continues being my favorite Marvel writer. Next week looks to be another light week which is great, since I hope to add to the trade reviews I have completed.
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Questions? Comments? Shoot me an email.
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