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So I guess we’re bi-monthly now? No, not really. I just have been hella busy this month and haven’t been able to hit the ol’ LCS every week like I used to. Anyway, it’s my Christmas vacation now and I am really happy to have a nice two-week vacation to recharge my batteries and all. This week’s edition of TPL includes another big haul, being as it was two weeks worth of stuff, and the totals look like this: 1 Vertigo, 16 DC’s and 25 Marvels, for a grand total of 42 books.
Spoiler Alert
The Main Event
-Final Crisis #5- Final Crisis continues on the path to the end of the DCU, since this is the issue where evil wins. Grant does a very good job of showing a multi-layered story, deftly showing the birth of the fifth age of the New Gods. Darkseid’s evil forces have infiltrated almost everywhere in the galaxy, as its revealed they were responsible for setting up Hal Jordan for deicide, unleashing more heroes caught up in the anti-life equation, and Darkseid taking over the world at issue’s end. Sure, the heroes put up a valiant fight, trying to band together against Darkseid’s forces, but can they actually hope to stage a comeback? Not when the judge of all evil shows up at the end. Sure, delays hurt the overall enjoyment of the monthly (or bi-monthly) issues, but you can’t knock what Grant is doing here, putting DC at the edge of destruction. 1/1. (2)
-DCU Holiday Special- I love DC’s holiday specials, whether it’s Halloween or the Christmas ones. I just love reading holiday specials, especially ones like these, where we see the characters just as characters and not part of a long-running story or characters in their current continuity. It’s just a group of stories we can enjoy reading featuring characters we know and love. There are some really good highlights here, including a Santa origin that’s eerily similar to one Kal-El, an Aquaman story where he becomes one of the three kings, a touching Robin/Boomerang/Nightwing offering, a JLA story featuring Shaggyman joining the Christmas spirit and a Dr. Light (the good one) lighting the whole city on Christmas Eve. 2/2 (3)
-Secret Invasion: Dark Reign #1- After Secret Invasion, the dark reign of Norman Osborn has begun. Osborn brings together his own secret (evil) illuminati, Namor, White Queen, the female Loki, The Hood and Dr. Doom. Of course, these volatile people being in the same room makes for some interesting conversation and a whole lot of distrust and suspicion amongst the members. Basically, Norman tells them that he’s in control, and he says he will help get these people what they want, whether it’s Latveria, Asgard, or whatever their intentions are. Norman also suggests he has some mysterious muscle that ensures the villains stay in line. Norman returns to Thunderbolt mountain where he kills the Swordsman. This also includes a preview of Secret Warriors, Agents of Atlas, and War Machine, which according to the last page is coming out on December 17th, 2009. That’s a long time to wait! It was just a misprint, actually. This was what was to be expected from a Bendis book, a lot of talking. While normally exposition like that isn’t needed, this is a case where it fit perfectly. It was a stand-alone issue that completely set up Norman’s intentions and what exactly all these villains have to do with it. A very good issue coming out of Secret Invasion. 1/1. (2)
-Dark Reign: New Nation #1- This was just a preview of the new titles that will be coming down the pike after SI, Secret Warriors, Agents of Atlas, War Machine, Skrull Kill Krew, and New Avengers: Reunion. The first two titles look really good, with Fury getting a new band of secret warriors together to help the world in Secret Warriors and a seemingly terrorist group in Agents of Atlas. War Machine and Skrull Kill Krew didn’t seem terribly interesting and the Avengers one-shot focused on Hawkeye and Mockingbird. If these are lead-ins to the issues and not part of them then this is a n okay title at best, if this just reprints what will be in the issue, it’s a colossal waste. I wasn’t impressed by 3/5 of the stories, and the $3.99 price tag puts this on the avoid list. 1/2. (3)
-Spider-Man: Noir #1- I didn’t know what to expect with this and I was really surprised, even though we only saw Spider-Man for two panels. This takes place in the rough and tumble post-depression 1930’s, 1933 to be exact, where Peter and May act as mouthpieces against the corruption and greed of people like Norman Osborn, a man who killed Peter’s uncle Ben. Urich takes Peter under his wing to try and keep him from getting killed, but probably more because he feels guilt, guilt that he was there when Ben was murdered, and it was Adrian Toomes and Norman’s enforcers that did the killing. This is the most unique re-telling of the Spider-Man mythos since probably Ultimate Spider-Man, and I think this is even better than that. It’s just the time its set, the characterization, the realness that it has thus far, I really dig it. 2/3. (3)
Marvel
-Adam: Legend of the Blue Marvel #2- Stark looks for Adam and finds that he was sent out on a suicide mission back in the 60’s by people paranoid both by African-Americans in power and of mutants, but Adam is still alive and Stark finds his wife and wants a meeting. There’s not a lot of hype around this but damned if I don’t know why, it’s been amazing so far. 3/4.(2)
-Amazing Spider-Girl #27- May finds herself in Arana’s body, while Arana is in Spider-Girl’s body going after Tarantula and the fake Spider-Girl is off finding Peter Parker, who is becoming the new Green Goblin. That was a lot to type in one sentence! DeFalco, Frenz and Buscema keep adding to this story and it’s a shame it has to end, again, in three months. One of the most consistently good books on the stands these days.4/5. (2)
-Amazing Spider-Man #580- Spidey fights off an obscure villain named The Blank, who makes the mistake of robbing the same bank May was going to. This was a fine stand-alone issue. 5/6.(2)
-Amazing Spider-Man #581- Peter gets away from it all (the girl problems, that is) by going with Harry to visit Liz Allen, only to find that Molten Man is there and he’s pissed that Harry’s there, too. He wakes up pretty pissed off. We see a somewhat convoluted story of how Harry isn’t dead that comes across as half-assed (Norman in cahoots with Mysterio?) The actual comic itself, with the Molten Man stuff was fine and thus point-worthy. 5/6. (3)
-Astonishing X-Men: Ghost Boxes #2- The two stories here are set in the future where the Ghost Box has had time to ravage our world. In both, people die. Cyclops kills himself and Armor kills Wolverine and Beast after arriving a year late to an ambush. I liked the way these two futuristic stories were presented and it’s interesting enough to be worth a look. 6/7. (2)
-Avengers: The Initiative #19- The Skrulls get pounded on by the Initiative who stop the Skrulls death-device. Freedom Ring (himself a Skrull) kills Hank Pymskrull, only to be killed by 3D Man, who didn’t know he was a hero. It’s odd they’d kill off Pym (and Dugan) in this book and not the proper mini-series but whatever. Recommended for its action sequences, of which there were many. 7/8. (3)
-Captain Britain and MI13 #8- Magic is crazy stuff to follow sometimes. It seems that this guy from Hell wants to take over the Earth and he looks close to his goal when all of the main characters in the book (except Captain Britain) are led into a trap by Ultimate Cap-looking British soldier. I didn’t think I would like this title as much as I am. I guess I need my magic fix from somewhere. 8/9. (2)
-Deadpool #5- Deadpool finds away to escape his trap and it’s just as zany and crazy a plan you would expect from the merc with a mouth. Way has managed in the span of the first 5 issues to capture the charm of Deadpool that Nicieza did so well. 9/10. (3)
-House of M: Civil War #4- Magneto fights off the US super-soldiers, learns that Prof is dead at the hands of Bucky, seals Bucky’s fate then goes off to fight back. Nukes are launched on Genosha by issue’s end. I really like how this shows the origin of how Magneto came into power, using the moniker of a recent Marvel mega-event. 10/11. (2)
-Invincible Iron Man #8- I picked this up thanks to the Dark Reign tag on the top. So Stark’s lost all credibility in the eyes of everyone and has to leave, with Maria Hill, SHIELD. So Stark gives up all the information he has to Norman, including a virus that will wipe out everything if he accesses anything illegal and sure enough, the virus is unleashed seconds later. Stark says the information from the SHRA is only in one place, his brain. Looks like a war between Norman and Tony now. If you hadn’t read Invincible before Dark Reign, now is the time to pick it up. 11/12. (3)
-Marvel Apes #0- This just reprints Amazing Spider-Man #’s 110 and 111, the first appearance of Gibbon. I won’t rate reprints (though they were good) so your mileage may vary on titles that will be on the next ASM Masterworks, but all the Ape themed covers are here from across the Marvel line. I picked up the holiday themed cover and that easily gives this a point. 12/13. (2)
-Mighty Avengers #20- This is an awesome memorial issue to the Wasp, playing on the backdrop of Hank Pym returning and harkening back to a conversation between Hank and Wasp shortly after they found a frozen Cap about having to wake up in a world that isn’t how you remembered it. This is the best issue of Mighty Avengers in its short history, and best SI tie-in. Probably best issue of SI, regardless, as we get a fitting tribute to a founding Avenger. 13/14. (3)
-New Exiles #16- Kitty kills Invisible Woman as Sage still battles in her mind with Merlyn. The darker Kitty is really the reason I still read this, and the fact there’s only two issues left. I think Exiles has more than run its course and it’s time for it to be put on the shelf for now. Evil Kitty is still cool, and she alone gives this book its point. 14/15. (3)
-Ultimate Fantastic Four #59- Mole Man and Thing take a fantastic voyage through the body of Sue and revive her. They do find nano-bots placed in her body by Reed and Sue says she’ll use them to try and find Johnny. Unfortunately, the good stories came too soon to its cancellation. 15/16. (3)
-Uncanny X-Men #505- Emma probes Scott about why Logan, X-23 and Warren are so sullen when returning from mysterious missions (an allusion to X-Force) as Beast recruits another member of the science think-tank. Emma gets a call at the end of the issue, probably from Norman. This title is so much better without Land on it. 16/17. (3)
-What If? Fallen Son #1- This disappointing tale shows not a story but just montages of what would happen if Stark was killed instead of Cap. There wasn’t really a connecting theme and more like, well, this would be different and different, but with no story behind it sunk pretty quickly. The Runaways back up was about 4 pages and sees Chase getting killed. 16/18. (2)
-What If? Newer Fantastic Four #1- This What If takes place during the Infinity Gauntlet and sees Wolverine lull Thanos into a false sense of security and save the world with the help of the new FF. I think age hurts this one, as the New FF story took place over 17 years ago. I thought this was a good issue, but more backstory could’ve been used to explain the new FF. 17/19. (3)
-Wolverine: Flies to a Spider #1- This Wolverine “holiday” issue where he gets revenge on a biker gang who killed a young girl who was caught in the crossfire. Eh, I wasn’t crazy about it, but it was readable. Wolverine had all of 1 line of dialogue. 18/20. (2)
-X-Factor #38- Madrox frees Darwin after letting the bad guy go, since he got what he wanted and didn’t care about anything else. Val Cooper takes a bullet thanks to Richter’s impulsiveness. Nelson took over as artist and I think it was a great improvement. 19/21. (3)
-X-Men and Spider-Man #2- I’m really digging this title, as it shows team-ups between Spider-Man and the X-Men during times we never saw them together. For instance, this takes place during the whole, Kraven’s Last Hunt and the Mutant Massacre. Now that we know Mr. Sinister is behind it I want to see where this leads us. Some funny jokes about Spider-Man not wanting to know about clones makes this a winner. 20/22. (2)
-X-Men: Kingbreaker #1- Everyone in the cosmos doesn’t like what Gabriel Summers is doing as head of the Shi’ar. Havok is still imprisoned as Lilandra and the rest of the Starjammers look for him. This was really good, and I like the War of Kings storyline. 21/23. (3)
-X-Men: Legacy #219- Xavier has a run-in with Juggernaut, and gets the better of him. This was a very enjoyable issue, as the Xavier-centric title is working out well. 22/24. (3)
DC
-Action Comics #872- Superman goes after the Kryptonians who killed the Earth cops as Luthor activates Brainiac who activates the monsters on his ship, in Kandor of course. New characters are here, Luthor is at his best, and this is turning out to be a sleeper storyline hit. 3/3. (2)
-Batgirl #6- Batgirl defeats but doesn’t kill her father and redeems herself in the eyes of Bruce, who now wants to adopt her. Well, I guess she’s part of the Bat-family now. Surprisingly enjoyable finale. 4/4. (3)
-Batman and the Outsiders #14- Nightwing and Batgirl fight to settle their differences, until Alfred settles it for them. Someone is teased as coming (possibly Azrael?). Good pacing, with a decent fight and interesting cutaways makes this an easy read. 5/5. (3)
-Batman Confidential #24- Joker continues his killing while still imprisoned as Batman tries to get inside’s Joker’s head through Matches Malone. Joker sees right through it, and Gordon takes a bullet from the husband whose wife Joker killed. Solid issue that shows just how crazy Joker is. 6/6. (2)
-DC Superfriends #10- This is a holiday themed issue of the comic, “based on the toy line from Mattel!” It actually says that on the cover. The Super Friends battle Dr. Light (the bad one) who tries to take the light out of the holidays. This was actually a VERY fun book to read and I highly recommend it. 7/7. (3)
-Detective Comics #851- A Two-Face imposter scars a famous Gothamite as the real Two-Face is upset about what’s going on. Don’t worry, Nightwing’s on the case. This title is lost without Batman. I wasn’t interested in this, really at all. 7/8. (2)
-Final Crisis: Revelations #4- The best Final Crisis book continues its biblical storyline as Cain (Vandal Savage) enslaves Spectre and turns him into a minion of Darkseid. Looks like the world is screwed, and not even Renee Montoya, Huntress or Mercy can save us now. Dare I say that this is better than the main Final Crisis story? Yes. 8/9. (2)
-Nightwing #151- Nightwing talks to Two-Face, has his girlfriend break up with him, visits the woman Two-Face thinks is dead then skydives from the stratosphere. This really just tied up loose ends before the series ended, and none of it was essential reading. 8/10. (2)
-Justice League of America #27- Dr. Light (the good one) makes an appearance as characters I don’t know or care about (from some company named Milestone) show up and want something with the JLA. Maybe it’s my unfamiliarity with the characters but I find like DC is using these characters in their big book just cause they got them and so a story is forced on us. I don’t think this will be good in the long-run. 8/11. (2)
-Robin #181- Robin deals with Anarky. He’s trying to run Gotham like Batman did and isn’t having a good time of it. I dropped this title for a reason, and I don’t know why I bought this one? 8/12. (3)
-Secret Six #4- The Six start falling apart at the wheels with their Get Out of Hell Free card, especially with the bagged dude following them. Bane is captured by him and the rest of the Six are poisoned at the end. I love Gail’s good-natured writing on here, as nothing is taken too seriously and the book has a fun atmosphere lacking in other books. 9/13. (2)
-Superman/Batman #54- Batman starts going power-hungry with his newfound Superman abilities as Clark takes a bullet in the gut for trying to save someone. It’s an interesting twist on the whole Super/Bat relationship. 10/14. (2)
-Trinity #28- Alfred takes the group to Rhode Island where they get transported to a weird Earth full of purple beings who worship statues of the Trinity. The second tale sees TVM and the rest of the sub-group of villains escape as the JSI try and plan an offensive. Another solid issue. 11/15. (2)
-Trinity #29- The travelers end up on the world where they are offered to accompany them on their spiritual journey to the Trinity statues. Meanwhile, Tarot sees a bleak future and ends up captured by TVM’s posse. I love the subtle things they put in here, from all the characters to the interesting tales being weaved thus far. 12/16. (3)
Vertigo
-Constantine: Hellblazer #250- No, this isn’t a new edition to TPL, it’s just a holiday themed issue and I always pick these up. You get a 5 stories, all with Constantine (a character I never followed) and despite not knowing about the character this book did a fine job explaining everything. The best thing on here was the Cubs curse story. A real entertaining, and different holiday issue. 1/1. (3)
Awards
There will be two winners for each this week, one representing the second and third week of December.
-Book of the Week- Again, since there were two weeks worth of comics, there will be two winners. First off, for the week of December 10th we have the awesome Final Crisis: Revelations. This is the best FC tie-in so far, with the biblical overtones and just great story-telling makes this a must-read.
For the third week of December, Mighty Avengers #2 was just an amazing tribute to the fallen Wasp. I just liked how well it was integrated into the MU, working stories from the past seamlessly into what’s going on today in Marvel, post-SI. Could this be a contender for Marvel book of the year?
-Disappointment of the Week- Again, there will be two winners. Of all the bad comics from December 10th, JSA #27 was the most annoying, since they introduce characters they assume we either a) know or b) care about and I just had neither. This was a waste of paper.
For the third week of December, the only title that lost a point was Robin #181, so that wins by default.
-Cover of the Week- I have to go with two holiday themed covers, being as it’s two days before Christmas. On the Marvel end with the Marvel Apes #0 Santa Claus Ape cover, which was just really cool, and for DC we have DCU Holiday Special with a sweet Frank Quitely cover.
-The Bottom Line- When you have a week that looks like 36 out of 42, you know you had a really good week. I managed to finish this (on time, to boot) before Christmas which I am happy about, and I plan on actually having one of these done for next week and not keep it a bi-monthly thing. I had fun, hope to see you next week. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays.
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Questions? Comments? Shoot me an email.
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