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www.tripod.comLast month I cut out about 20 titles from the TPL and here we are four Tuesday’s later. I feel a lot better with the books I’m getting. With mini-series and all ending in the next couple of months and with me avoiding some of the event title tie-ins (especially the Siege) I feel that I have the same zeal writing these that I had back when I first started. That being said, I do have a big haul this month from the looks of things. There are on Image title, one Del Rey title, 4 DC’s and x Marvels for a grand total of x books.
Spoiler Alert
Image
-Mice Templar II #5- Mice Templar is one of those rare books that I honestly look forward to every month. It’s a story that borrows a lot from the world of myths and legends and combines it all together into one fantastic story. This issue builds on the Civil War of the Templar and what happens when Karic and Cassius meet up with the Maeven archers. Cassius had a relationship with their leader, Llochloraine, who is now with Pellius, an old Templar foe. The tension is palpable and when Karic holds one of them hostage to free Cassius, Karic accepts a meeting with the bats against the will of Cassius. Karic seems to develop a relationship with one of the Maeven archers, too. What good is a hero without a female? The article on the Civil War at the end of the book just adds to the great mystique of the book. 1/1.
Del Rey
-The Talisman #2- At the risk of sounding stupid, this is the first time I really understood what was going on. Our hero, Jack must go to the other realm (called the Territories) to retrieve the Talisman and save his mother (who’s twinner in the Territories is the queen of the land). There to try and stop him is his evil uncle, Morgan. This issue shows Jack’s first real journey to the Territories to begin his search. The essay at the end by Robin did a lot to explain the story and I’m really into it now. 1/1.
DC
-Batman: The Unseen #5- Batman takes a sip of the translux serum, loses his mind for a bit, but stops the Invisible Man. Let’s be honest, this story didn’t really add anything to Batman’s mythos but it was a 5-issue mini-series that was wholly enjoyable and really that’s what comics should be. 1/1.
-Blackest Night: Wonder Woman #1- Wonder Woman faces off with the Zombie of Max Lord around Washington DC (even fighting off a Zombie version of the Unknown Soldier). This works well as a stand-alone issue but here it’s the first of three and the little blurb for next week mentions a zombie Wonder Woman, which seems to be a completely opposite direction of this. Like I said, this was a great stand-alone issue and on that merits it’s a great read. 2/2.
-Blackest Night: Flash #1- This sees the Flash running around wondering if the Zombie version of Zoom reappearing is the resurrection that Zoom always talked about. Flash literally tosses him away before looking for Solovar. He finds him, but he’s all zombified and Flash gets upset. So Flash grabs the ring and runs away with it. The rogues are also out to get the zombies, but they are unaware that the Zombies are after them, too. I thought this was a better tie-in than the Wonder Woman one because it was just tied closer to the whole event. I quite like the fact that the Rogues will be going to war with the zombies, too. As someone who doesn’t read Flash, this was easy to understand. 3/3.
-Superman: World of New Krypton #10
Adam Strange appears on Krypton as a Kryptonian diplomat is killed. Adam is accused but he’s innocent and to prove it he’ll help Superman find the real killer. The Labor Guild becomes major suspects but Superman suggests it could be assassins at work. I kind of ragged on this last issue but this one picked up the pace and the murder mystery and the inclusion of Strange is really showing Superman in a different light and it was a mystery I was getting drawn into. 4/4.
Marvel
-Captain America Theater of War – Prisoners of Duty #1- This is a great WWII story featuring Steve Rogers becoming a POW and helping his fellow soldiers escape. He meets an American Nurse working for the Germans since she was caring for her father and Cap realizing why you don’t keep promises during war. Another fabulous Theater of War story and this was on the same great level as the stories Jenkins was doing. 1/1.
-Dark Avengers Annual #1- This is the reason I kept this title in the pull box while dropping the other Avengers titles. For one, Bendis does a great job capturing these evil souls on the team and second, the art is always superb. This annual doesn’t feature Deodato but it showcases one of my personal favorites: Chris Bachalo. This focuses on Marvel Boy and his fall from grace in regards to the Dark Avengers. He is wandering aimlessly looking for a reason to be on Earth when he is confronted by the Dark Avengers. He wards them off, with the help of a girl he just met, and after conferring with the Supreme Intelligence of the Kree he becomes Earth’s new protector. This character turn for Marvel Boy was great, and Bendis’ assessment (the brat growing up) that was added in an interview at the end adds another level of enjoyment to the book. 2/2.
-DarkTower: Battle of Jericho Hill- We meet Roland some nine years after Gilead has fallen. This issue serves as a moving ahead of time, showing Roland and his crew (Alain, Cuthbert, Sheemie and Aileen) preparing to take down Farson and Broadcloak. You can’t hate on the table-setting issue, considering how great the previous issue was. I have no doubt that action will pick up as the book continues. 3/3.
-Deadpool Team-Up #898- This stand-alone story features Deadpool teaming up with the Zapata Brothers (some lucha-mask wearing bounty hunters) to screw over an even nastier and more dastardly bounty hunter type. It’s classic Deadpool, with the tri-monologuing merc with a mouth, and for three bucks it’s worth it. If you’re not a fan of Deadpool you won’t get any mileage out of this, though. 4/4.
-Fall of the Hulks: Alpha #1- The Intelligencia is a long-lasting evil minds group featuring the Leader, Doctor Doom, and Egghead among others. They have been stealing works of literature from the Library of Alexendria and when its complete Doom betrays them and Leader goes into hiding. Before he left the Leader learned that the Hulk was shot into space and he warned he’d be back. MODOK becomes a member when Egghead dies and after Leader runs off MODOK finds him years later with the idea for Red Hulk. Well, it brings the Red Hulk into this as an evil creation of evil minds. I am on the fence for this book. Ever since the Illuminati the in thing to do was create these secret societies of heroes or villains and try to tie them into events of Marvel’s past. I don’t get why these sometimes B-listers would join together. It seems like it was set up as a neat way to tie up loose ends that couldn’t be explained any other sensible way. Oh, it’s was just that secret group that did it. It just seems like a lazy plot point. I will wait to see how this plays out but this isn’t a stellar start to Fall of the Hulks besides that last page. 4/5.
-Hulk: Winter Guard #1- This focused on the Winter Guard (WHO?), a group of Russian super-heroes working for the government. Somehow this ties into an issue of Hulk and its reprinted here (#393, the anniversary issue). I just want to know why I care about the Winter Guard and their interchangeable corps. Will they play a role on Fall of the Hulks? I didn’t find this all that enjoyable and it’s basically $4 for a reprint. Not a good week for the Hulk titles. 4/6.
-Marvels Project, The #4- This title (was it delayed? It certainly feels like it) rolls along. The Ferret is killed looking into the German saboteur that is trying to hijack the super-soldier serum. The rest of the story follows the origin of Captain America, which is necessary in a story like this that retells the origin of Marvel Comics while trying to tie in all the Golden Age characters. I really appreciate how this title is integrating all these characters so far, and reading the Golden Age Marvel Masterworks has aided my familiarity with these characters. 5/7.
-Nova #32- Nova and Darkhawk fall through the fissure and end up in the midst of the Sphinx. They don’t know what they are there for yet but they do run into a time-displaced Reed Richards. We see that this world is not the Earth we know. Confusion abounds when Black Bolt arrives with a woman wrapped in bandages. Nova’s shocked to learn that it is Namorita. The Sphinx is one of Nova’s better enemies from the New Warriors days and this starts off with an interesting premise that will keep me on board. 6/8.
-Psylocke #2- My problems with issue #1 were quickly resolved here, as the story was really explained, especially who Matsu’o is and why Psylocke hates him. Here Psylocke goes after Matsu’o but Matsu’o has one more trick up his sleeve. He kills the daughter of a powerful super-powered guy and he shows up where Psylocke is looking for revenge. Think they’ll have some sort of misunderstanding? The conflict has been properly set up and Psylocke’s role in it is well-defined. One thing I have yet to grasp is Wolverine’s involvement in this and I hope it’s something that makes sense and not just a ham-handed cameo. This was a lot better than the first issue. 7/9.
-Siege: The Cabal #1- It’s time for Marvel’s next new event! My wallet thanks me because I won’t be buying all the tie-ins. Basically, Norman and Doom have a misunderstanding (it was bound to happen) and they fight (it was bound to happen, too). Basically Doom wants Norman to stop fighting Namor but Norman refuses. Things go badly from there. The use of Loki as an evil and treacherous voice in Norman’s ear is a great plot device. It’s a simple set-up (two villains disagree and the ramifications will be disastrous) but I hope this doesn’t get drawn out too long. This was a good start, and based on the previews of the Siege, at least we’re out of the gate quickly. 8/10.
-Spider-Man: Noir – Eyes Without A Face #1- Spidey becomes the first Noir guy to get a second mini-series. The writing here tells you why. Peter is still fighting crime but now he’s up against a new Crime master. This Crime Master, with the help of Sandman (because he puts people to sleep) has been killing top guys across the board and Peter goes to Felicia for help. Their relationship is played off much the same way as the comic book (as just a sexual thing and nothing else). There’s also the Noir version of Doctor Octopus and he’s even more dastardly than the one we know, experimenting on African-Americans for some devious purpose. If you missed the first one than I suggest you pick this up. This is has the potential to be the best Noir book yet. 9/11.
-The Torch #4- Toro is freed and he heads to Reed Richards for some testing. Reed doesn’t really find anything except noting that the Horton Cells are enhancing his mutant power. The Torch is freed, too, but his emotions are all out of whack. He does agree to help out Toro once the Atlanteans start spreading the red mist that is controlling their minds. The uninterested Torch is a good turn for the character, and bringing in Namor just harkens back to the original Marvel crossover with Torch battling Namor. This is another good Timely revival for bullpen boys. 10/12.
-Ultimate Spider-Man #5- Spidey gets pounded by Mysterio, until the Hood shows up to save him. In the battle Spidey spilled blood and now Mysterio has an inside track onto who Spidey really is. Meanwhile, Aunt May takes Bobby Drake into the home. It seems like the Parker house is turning into a teenage super-hero wasteland. Well, the honeymoon is officially over for USM. The story doesn’t seem to have a direction, the art is not befitting to anything Bagley or Immonen did, and you’re paying more than you did for the greatness of Bagley or Immonen. 10/13.
-Uncanny X-Men #518-
This issue serves two purposes. The first is to show Cyclops going through Emma’s mind to get rid of the Void. He succeeds, but now the Void is inside Cyclops. Secondly, this sows the seeds of Beast leaving the team. This was very light on action, but it is setting up the next stories so I can accept that. Plus, Dodson is on art and anytime Land is off the title is a good time. 11/14.
-What If? Secret Invasion #1- It’s December and it’s that time of year for Marvel What Ifs. This was one of the more unoriginal ones I’ve read. There are two stories in here and neither was especially imaginative. The first one (the main one) shows the Skrulls winning and the heroes fighting back with Norman getting involved while the second features the Skrulls going through an underground invasion with Norman in the middle. See, Norman is only figuring into this because of the prominent role he’s in now, while in the Secret Invasion he was barely even noticed until the end. It just seemed lazy and it didn’t capture the inventiveness that made What If great. 11/15.
-X-Babies #3- The babes are back. The X-Babies realize that the Star Comic guys are all trapped in their own television world, too. They split up with Wolvie and Nightcrawler freeing the Star guys and the rest finding the new rule of Mojoverse. The ruler whips up a whole horde of almost invincible hero babies to combat the X-Babies. This continues to be a cool book and as an all-ages title it’s very well-written. The kids will love it and their parents who remember these characters from the 80’s will look on it fondly, too. 12/16.
-X-Force Annual #1- This was a dual-story annual, the first featuring Wolvie kidnapping a Hydra general so that he can use his marrow to save the general’s dying daughter. Hydra gets him back but the general does let him get some of his marrow in the quickest way possible. This was a surprisingly touching story. The Deadpool story (him in the X-Necrosha battle) was one of the funnier DP stories I’ve read and that’s saying something. This gets high marks all around. 13/17.
-The Bottom Line-
Marvel drops an unimpressive 13 out of 17, mainly because of the poor showing of the Hulk titles. The Hulk titles will be gone soon (after Fall of the Hulks presumably) while Ultimate Spider-Man continues to disappoint. This is one I am buying for completeness sake. I have the whole run of the original series and I don’t want to break my run. However, if this continues to be crap I will be forced to do that. I was expecting the What If to be better, too. 13 out of 17 isn’t a great number and Marvel really needs to shore up those titles since 2 of them are $4 titles and one is sold based on what should be a strong, thought-provoking story (What If). The other companies all had solid showings and I’m really happy with the DC books I’ve been buying and cutting out the slack has made me enjoy reading DC again. Well, sorry for the delay but this week was crazy, which I’ll mention in tomorrow’s Sunday post.
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Questions? Comments? Shoot me an email.
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