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This was a bit of a slow week comic book wise and I am happy for it. I can sit back and relax and read them a bit leisurely. My weekend doesn’t look too busy. I have to grade some tests and update my gradebook but that will probably only take about 90 minutes. I’ll probably work on that on Saturday when volleyball is on all day (it’s the NCAA tournement!). SJU just lost to USC in the third round in a heartbreaking 5-set match but I am happy for the great season they had, the greatest in their history. This isn’t the time or the place for that right now, so I’ll just keep this to comics. 11 Marvels, 8 DC’s and 1 Vertigo title add up to 20 comics, and this will definitely be out on time, I won’t be fighting to get it done like last week since, thankfully, classes are over. Enough chit-chat, TPL is ahead.
Spoilers Ahead
Main Event
-World War Hulk Aftersmash #1- World War Hulk has ended and we are left with the aftermath. Bill Foster’s son takes the mantle of Goliath and tries to take out Tony Stark. Hercules and Cho are helping rebuild Manhattan, while Thing, Cage and Spider-Man guard the captured Warbound. The Warbound feel a bit guilty and actually escape, but only to stop the fighting between the hive and the soldiers. They do that, then help repair the structural damage to the island of Manhattan before getting away. This is really a big preview of the new Warbound series (following the Warbound, d’uh), more rebuilding in the WWH Damage Control and Hercules and Cho evading SHIELD. Good preview for those titles, which will serve as a bridge between the end of the mini and those new issues.
-What If…? Uncanny X-Men #1- I expected this to be pretty cool, since the Brubaker penned 12-parter was pretty fantastic, but this issue left me wanting more. Vulcan gains the power of the Phoenix, destroys the Shi’ar galaxy, ends the Annihilation wave (probably by mistake), kills off another 6 galaxies then heads towards Earth. The Summers family unites (Cable, Rachel, Scott and Alex) on Krakoa to stop him and they fight a bit, they talk, and Vulcan sacrifices himself to stop the Phoenix flame from destroying Earth. It seems Jean Grey was involved somehow, as she meets with Vulcan on another plane of existence. She’s had soft spot for Summers’ it seems. I wanted to see more of Vulcan destroying things and his turn from evil to hero seemed sudden and out of character. I think it’s one of the weaker What If titles of the recent batch.
-Ultimates 3 #1- The Ultimates, and Joe Mad, return. This was a very hyped title and to be honest, I was a bit skeptical. Joe Mad is not known for his timeliness, and I haven’t really enjoyed any of Loeb’s recent Marvel work thus far, but, for the most part, I liked this. The story was pretty interesting. First, we learn of a leaked sex tape between Tony and the Black Widow and Tony starts drinking heavily. Venom attacks out of nowhere and the Ultimates take him down. Thor is dating Valkyrie and it seems Hawkeye has a death wish. They dispatch of Venom. Wasp wonders why Captain America is MIA and he seems to have his own agenda. He comments that Wanda’s outfit is too revealing and they storm out, with Quicksilver telling Cap they are “in love.” Wasp finds Hank has taken too many drugs and has OD’ed. So, all is normal in the Ultimate universe. Man, these people are really screwed up. To make matters worse, a mysterious person fires a shot at Quicksilver and although he tries to stop it, the bullet goes through his hand, seemingly killing Scarlet Witch. I loved the story, and the art, but for some reason, the coloring seemed off. It was almos blurry to me, or even a bit sepia toned. I didn’t like the coloring but loved everything else.
Marvel
-Annihilation Conquest #2- This was another stellar issue of Annihilation. I can’t think of a major storyline that has been as enjoyable issue in and out, starting from the Drax mini-series of a few years ago. This issue had it all; Starlord and his gang of losers have sent Blastaar into the Phalanx belly in order to shoot out some spores of Groot to get inside information on the Phalanx’ base of operations. Ronin and Super-Skrull try to meet with Ravenous (from the previois mini-series) and Moondragon and Quasar meet with High Evolutionary. High Evolutionary was asked by Supremor to build an army of Kree soldiers but now he just wants to leave, he doesn’t want to be taken over by the Phalanx. Ultron pops in on the group and seemingly kills Moondragon and Warlock is ready for a fight. The pacing is awesome and the art is great and this is truly an epic event.
-Avengers: The Initiative Annual #1- This issue really just reveals the origins of Gauntlet (he used an arm-gun that can’t come off), Armory (she got an alien arm attachment after she tried to kill herself), Hardball (he gained his powers through a power broker and now a contract he signed with him belongs to Hydra), MVP and his clones and the Pennsylvania heroes, the Liberteens. They are led by The Revolutionary and the big reveal is that he is actually a Skrull! The Skrulls want to have someone in every state! The Secret Invasion has started!
-House of M: The Avengers #2- Shang-Chi and Cage are rival sapiens in Mutant town and Cage says they should team up, which Shang doesn’t agree to. We are also introduced to Frank Castle (who kills some mutants who threaten his family) and he’s hired by James Proudstar to lead a group of mutants to take out Cage and his group. Misty is still on the inside of Cage’s operation and can’t find any details on his operations. She coordinates a plan to get Shang and Cage to meet again, where the Castle led mutants get the jump on Cage. Taskmaster has a shot at Cage but Tigra jumps in front of the bullet. Misty takes aim and fires at issues end. Another very good and fun issue.
-Howard The Duck #3- Howard is imprisoned by local authorities but is freed when She-Hulk convinces him to sign the registration act contract. He is freed and saves people from cameramen standing on a statue. He and Beverly investigate the mechanical newscasters and find that MODOT is behind it all! He tries to warn people but is arrested (they are blaming the statue falling on him) and is sentanced to life in a zoo. How’s Howard going to get out of this one? Pretty good stuff, not a problem with the story at all.
-Ms. Marvel #22- Ms. Marvel learns the origin of Cru. She was also a genetically modified warrior who wants revenge on the Skrulls. They are still in a state of hibernation when the Skrulls on Monster Island descend upon them. Ms. Marvel stops the unmolding process and fights them off while powerless. She eventually escapes but Cru was kidnapped. Marvel finds her and is captured and brought to the Brood Queen (who Carol thought she killed) who vows to kill them both. The push to 25 continues, but after that there’s a new direction which kind of worries me to a degree. I think Reed has been very good on the title and after a rough start it has grown on me. This was a good issue.
-The Order #5- This issue ultimately focuses on a group of rogue heroes that were involved in the death of one of the former members. You can tell how much I like this title by my being able to tell you the names of the characters. This just set up the Order against a team of super-powered villains called the Black Dahlia’s which one of their current members used to be a part of. There’s a backstory of Becky’s sex tape being blocked by the PR people. I don’t really care about the characters but the book has been well-written and will keep me picking it up for now.
-Silver Surfer: In Thy Name #2- Silver Surfer stops an alien being and a bunch of the aliens start calling him a savior. He doesn’t want that and leaves back to the utopian ship. They seem to want to impose their values on this alien world and Surfer doesn’t like that either. He flies away and is attacked by the group that attacked him last issue. He seems that he will be dissected. OK, Silver Surfer is a god to some but he doesn’t want it and he has to face some villains we’ll never see again. Ultimately, this mini-series will probably be pointless and doesn’t read or view like the Requiem mini-series.
-The Twelve #0- This is just a preview of the Twelve, with three Golden Age stories from the early 40’s and some sketches and comments by the upcoming artist. I look forward to this mini-series.
DC
-Countdown to Final Crisis #21- Let’s see, Trickster is dead but his death causes his handcuff to start a detonation sequence and it will blow in 24 hours. Desaad and Granny chat and we see Granny is in charge of the Amazon island where Holly and Harley escape the gates and walk into a cave with a shadowed woman looking on. The Challangers meet up with another Monitor who tries to stop them. They escape from the Batman Beyond universe. Karate Kid is in Bludhaven and opens a box there, activating a new brother eye. There were a couple of annoying things here, specifically that 52 was mentioned like two times in terms of time or space and just reeks of obviousness. Overall not a stellar or even good issue.
-Countdown Arena #1- Monarch is still gathering heroes and villains from the many different universes and he has decided to pit them together in battle! Only the strong will survive! The first battle shows some Nightshades’ fighting each other and the victor trying to leave. Monarch destroys a whole country on her Earth and everyone else sees this happen and sees what Monarch can do. There’s a vicious battle between Batman’s which ends with the vampire Batman winning. Monarch says the others will battle in time but Superman decides that he and the heroes should band together to defeat Monarch. The next issue is next week and I don’t know if this is a weekly book (I assume it would be since we’re so close to the end of Final Crisis). The cover was much more awesome than the actual fight between the Batmen but the interior was entertaining.
-Infinity Inc. #4- My love for this title continues. The three former members of Infinity Inc. stop Kid Empty who takes it out on his girlfriend (after he can’t pleasure her in bed). Steel reluctantly sides with a former confidant of Luthor. Someone impersonates Steel and kills Kid Nukleon. Luckily, it was only a duplicate of him but the real killer gets away and in the backup, Empty targets him. Actually, this wasn’t too bad.
-Justice League of America #15- Firestorm shows up to save Superman from Lex Luthor and helps free Batman by giving him a pen to pick his lock. The entire JLA is free and they basically dismantle the Legion of Doom. This was just an entertaining fight issue that sees Firestorm join the team at the end.
-Justice Society of America #11- The Justice Society learn there are more alternate realities and the Flashes try to investigate, but fail. Kingdom Come Superman (KCS) says his universe has been destroyed and he doesn’t know what to do here on Earth. He gets involved with the Justice Society and helps stop some villains but still can’t find his place. It seems that he and Power Girl will try to help each other. We see a vignette of Mr. America investigating the murder of a super powered person. There were like three issues introducing KC Superman with really no payoff. That was a bit disappointing.
-Metamorpho Year One #5- Rex is fed up that he isn’t cured but Stagg tells him he has a cure. Rex is on his way when an alien attacks them (of course, right where they are) and Rex (dubbed Metamorpho by Stagg) stops the alien. He is guaranteed a cure but it seems the Justice League has eyes on Metamorpho and want to talk to him. This concludes next issue and it is a very nice look at Metamorpho’s first steps as a hero.
-Robin #169- Robin and Damian are still capured but manage to escape. They fight and Robin starts thinking about the deal from Ra’s, he is thinking of sacrificing himself so that his loved ones can return (his mother, father, Connor, and someone else, I forget). He goes all the way to the Lazarus Pit but Nightwing appears saying he will stop him. We see the new body of Ra’s as well, an old monk. Not really a good issue.
-Supergirl #24- Superman returns to Supergirl with a gift. Through the magic of some Lantern technology, Supergirl and Superman are able to view Krypton from many millions of lightyears away. Supergirl remembers being sent away from Krypton and that she is the only link to Krypton since Kal-El was too young. She reveals to Kal a memory that his mother used to sing to him and he’s shocked she remembered that. It seems she has her memories of Krypton back. Supergirl is a weird title. I’m sure it sells well but it really has just been a big mess since its inception. She was introduced in Superman/Batman and it was really cool. Her title just sort of went between writers and artists and never seemed to find a flow. The alternating arcs are disjointed and forgets whatever went before. The last two issues were decent (it could’ve been told in one issue, though) and it seems that they’re going in another direction starting next issue. We will see.
Vertigo
-Northlanders #1- The previews mentioned something about Vikings and I knew I had to try it out. Not that I have any sort of knowledge on historical Vikings or even a passing interest in them, but I thought this would be good, especially Brian Wood at the helm. Simply, this was a great issue. We meet Sven, a viking learning that his uncle has taken over his old hometown and basically stolen what should’ve been Sven’s inheritance. Sven returns home and his uncle is scared. He throws him in the middle of nowhere (where his home used to be) and Sven vows to return. Excellent issue.
Awards
-Book of the Week- I battled with this one. I really liked Ultimates 3, WWH Aftersmash but when it comes down to it, the issue I enjoyed the most was Northlanders #1. It was different, it told an interesting story of Sven returning to a home that has moved on without him and was just a great opener. I look forward to the continuation of this book.
-Disappointment of the Week- I think the most disappointing issue to me was Robin #169. The comic has been nothing short of amazing the past year and then it gets drawn into the Ra’s storyline and it’s just lost. That’s one reason why I don’t like when titles get drawn into a story line like this. It seems the past two issues have lost what was going on before. I just didn’t like it.
-Cover of the Week- There were some really good covers this week but I think the best one I picked up was Greg Horn’s cover to Ms. Marvel #22. I love the old costumes being cycled around almost like a slot machine.
-The Bottom Line- Bottom line, awesome week for Marvel. They really hit homeruns with Aftersmash, Ultimates 3, Annihilation, Avengers: The Initiative Annual and House of M: Avengers. DC, not so much. Countdown Arena was enjoyable, and JLA had a great fight scene but overall the titles were just average at best. The book of the week deservedly belonged to Northlanders but Marvel had some strong contenders. Thankfully the load was light this week and here it is, Sunday evening and this is already done (though you won’t be reading it until Tuesday). Great week for Marvel, below average for DC and Vertigo ruled. See ya next week.
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Questions? Comments? Shoot me an email.
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