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Crap I have a lot of reading to do. I have 1 Vertigo title, 6 DC comics and an unbelievable 30 Marvel comics, most of them being Dark Reign titles. I’m just gonna start reading and reviewing now.
Spoiler Alert
Marvel
-Amazing Spider-Man #598- Things really start to pick up here. Spidey is saved by his mask and he learns Norman’s true intentions. He wants to make Harry into the American Son so that he can be martyred. Also, Menace’s son is not Harry’s but Norman’s! Spidey and Harry both make their discoveries concurrently, which is good for Spidey because Harry is able to don the Son armor to stop his father from killing a weakened Spidey. There were a ton of revelations here and this is just another awesome issue for the Spidey crew. 1/1.
-Astonishing X-Men #30- The X-Men head over to Forge and stop his zany idea of bringing in other mutants to “save the world.” The X-Men are able to stop him without much of a problem. Delays really hurt this and I thought the story wasn’t all that great, either. The ending was just like, hey let’s stop Forge in less than one issue and destroy his fortress and this other world. This title really needs to get on track in terms of schedule if it wants to stay relevant. 1/2.
-Avengers The Initiative #25- Normie totally messes with Tigra and Gauntlet, making both incredibly uncomfortable (Gauntlet needs to lose his arm and Tigra must be under Hood’s control) so both fight free and draw Norman’s ire. They are saved by the New Warriors, rebels from Camp Hammond who are trying to reveal Norman for who he really is. This title, more than many of the other Dark Reign books, really show what a psycho Norman is and just how ruthless he is. 2/3.
-Avengers/Invaders #12- This is the prerequisite big fight issue where the heroes battle Red Skull and retake the Cosmic Cube and fix the world. This was an awesome 12-parter. 3/4.
-Daredevil #119- Daredevil finds out that Kingpin played him and he’s really just taking over his empire with the help of Lady Bullseye and the Owl. Things are not going to get better for Matt since Kingpin just put a hit out on Foggy and Dakota is captured for snooping on Kingpin and Owl. Next issue is #500, resuming the numbering of the original series. Marvel is doing that a lot recently, though the numberings for Cap and Hulk are a little dubious. This is pretty clear-cut. #380 issues of Vol. 1 and 119 so far for Vol. 2, so next issue is the 500th. 4/5.
-Dark Avengers #6- Noh-Varr is nowhere to be found as Namor prepares to take on the Atlantean terrorists that attacked LA, despite Namor’s refusal to help. Sentry does most of the dirty work even though Norman manipulated him into using the Void to kill the terrorists. Norman is also falling victim to his own schizophrenia. I love the layers to this comic so far, with Norman manipulating everyone but slowly falling to his own psychopathic ways. 5/6.
-Dark Avengers/Uncanny X-Men: Utopia #1- Mutant hysteria rises in San Francisco and Cyclops can’t keep the X-Men in check. Norman is there and he has an answer, his own dark X-Men team led by Emma Frost clad all in black. There’s some great fight scenes between the X-Men and the Avengers and Norman’s takeover of the X-Men should give us some good stories. 6/7.
-Dark Reign: Elektra #4- Elektra battles a wise-cracking Bullseye and impales him with an arrow. Elektra is about to be taken down by Hammer agents when Wolverine shows up. I have to say it again; I love how Elektra is being written here. 7/8.
-Dark Reign: The Hood #2- The Hood fights the woman from last issue (I forget her name already), and falls under the spell of Dormammu to defeat her. He doesn’t like this demon presence and wants to learn more about it, visiting Satana by issue’s end. This series has done a lot to humanize the Hood and actually give readers some insight into his character. 8/9.
-Dark Reign: Lethal Legion #1- A lawyer goes to visit the Lethal Legion who are locked up in the Raft. They all went against Norman and refused to work for him and a mole in their group sold them out and got them locked up. It seems that traitor was Wonder Man, leader Grim Reaper’s brother. I could get sick of these Dark Reign tie-ins, but when it is well-written like this, you can’t. These are B-level characters that have been given meaning and it’s enjoyable to read. 9/10.
-Dark Reign: Sinister Spider-Man #1- This focuses on Mac Gargan, aka Venom, aka Dark Spider-Man. This features Mac stopping a thief, eating his arm, stealing the money, and then killing a whore and dropping it in Jameson’s room to mess with his life. He still harbors some ill will for Jameson making him the Scorpion and all. There’s also a man called the Redeemer who wants to help villains and his goal is to help Spider-Man. Bachalo really sells this tale with his art fitting the chaos of Sinister Spider-Man perfectly. 10/11.
-Dark Reign: Zodiac #1- This guy, Zodiac, is putting together a team of people (including a clown and some Spidey villain who is beyond obscure) and wants to take on Osborn. He kills 100 HAMMER agents just for the fun of it, seemingly. Human Torch is involved in this issue somehow, too, though I didn’t think it was all that well explained. This is a Dark Reign title that is so far completely unneeded. Do we need another person who wants to take Norman down, I mean, we already have Punisher, the Lethal Legion, dark Wolverine (which you’ll see next issue), Spider-Man, the New Warriors and I’m sure there’re more. Just unnecessary and there’s not enough of an interesting plot to make it worth reading, yet. 10/12.
-Dark Wolverine #75- Dark Wolverine is none other than Daken, son of Logan. Daken seems to have his own agenda as part of the Avengers, using his powers to control people’s emotions to really mess around with people. His main target seems to be Bullseye, and even frames Bullseye for shooting an arrow into Human Torch’s leg. Wow, Torch is getting beat up in the Dark Reign tie-ins this week. Daken is cool and you’ll just have to deal with it. 11/13.
-Guardians of the Galaxy #15- The Shi’ar and the Inhumans end up on Knowhere and battle it out. Once the Inhumans grab Crystal they high-tail it out of there and leave the Guardians to deal with the Shi’ar. The Guardians do end up kicking the crap out of the Shi’ar in some awesome sequences and the female Starhawk somehow gets her mind implanted in Moondragon. Finally, the Celestial that is Knowhere comes to life and tells Warlock that the fate of all existence depends on him. That’s a heavy load to carry. It’s Abnett & Lanning, of course this gets a point. 12/14.
-Incredible Hercules #130- Hercules and Cho are in hell and Hercules tries to help his father, Zeus, who is on trial by Pluto. Hercules refuses to have his father be found guilty but now must battle the evil Hercules that is in hell. Cho finds his dead family (led there by Ben Parker) but can’t face them since they are dead because of him. I enjoy the mythology that Pak and Van Lente are throwing in here. 13/15.
-Ms. Marvel #40- Ms. Marvel battles the energy being that steals her kids. Osborn wants to know why Ms. Marvel is housing them. Deadpool is brought in by AIM to get the babies, too. The energy being finds Spider-Man and Wolverine to get help. I don’t know how to go with this. It is a semi-interesting story, but is Moonstone really what people want as Ms. Marvel? Based on how she is written in Dark Avengers, this isn’t really believable, either. 13/16.
-New Avengers #54- Well, Brother Voodoo is the new Sorcerer Supreme. Is he Doctor Voodoo now? So the New Avengers, with Dr. Voodoo, finish off Dormammu and The Hood and the Hood is utterly defeated. Loki shows up and asks Hood if he wants a second chance. Of course he says yes. Finally, Barton’s attempt to have the populace turn on Osborn fails and he says their only hope is to kill him now. I thought this was a lot better than it has been since things actually happened. Pages and pages of dialogue didn’t lead to nowhere as has happened in the past. I don’t think Voodoo deserves the mantle of Sorcerer Supreme but I’ll see how this plays out before passing judgment. 14/17.
-Nova #26- Richard Ryder returns as Nova-Prime and kicks some major ass, saving a bunch of the rookie Nova’s and then goes off looking for his brother. He finds Ravenous getting his ass handed to him by the new female Guardian until Nova shows up to arrest her. I don’t think she will go willingly. Another awesome issue. 15/18.
-Runaways #11- The Runaways hold a little prom of their own with Chase hijacking some Russian music. It turns out that was just a homing device for a rocket of theirs and that rocket lands in the Runaways house, killing Old Lace and freaking out Klara to the point where he control of plants just evaporates and the house is enveloped in vines. Old Lace was useless so killing it delivered the promise that one will die without really offending anyone. Still, I liked the offbeat way that trouble found the kids. 16/19.
-Secret Warriors #5- Nick and some soldiers attack a HAMMER stronghold to steal Helicarriers. Unfortunately, the Hydra villains show up to stop the thievery. Fortunately, Fury has his secret warriors pop up to even the odds. Fury as a renegade is just awesome. There’s action, there’s story-telling, and there’s a lot of stuff here for people to like. 17/20.
-Skaar Son of Hulk #12- Skaar and Hulk fight and Skaar is a bit upset it is stupid Hulk and now the Hulk that remembered Sakaar. Skaar stabs him and leaves. That was rather anti-climactic. In other worlds, Galactus revives from the slumber he was in thanks to Skaar and he’s not happy. This was a good fight issue and I can appreciate that. 18/21.
-Thunderbolts #133- Trust is not something that is happening between the members of the Thunderbolts. Ant-Man doesn’t like being with psychos and the newest one is called Scourge. Ghost finds out who Black Widow is working for and agrees to work with her to take down Osborn from within. We also see that Widow is working for Fury. That just made this title even cooler. Fury vs. Osborn is a great match-up. 19/22.
-Timestorm 2009-2099: X-Men #1- Wolvie shows up in the future and meets 2099 Logan and the X-Men of that time. I think the characters a bit different from the ones I remembered. Anyway, Hulks are going crazy and Wolvie, with Ghost Rider 2099 and the X-Men, battle them all. GR and Wolverine leave to find Doom at the end of the issue and this will tie into the Timestorm mini-series. Decent stuff. I don’t think it is essential reading but if you’re a fan of nostalgia and the 2099 stuff then you’d like this. 20/23.
-Uncanny X-Men #512- The Beast and this gang of scientists head back in time to try and find the roots of the modern age of mutants. It all stems from Dr. James Bradley’s parents and the gang travels into the past to 1906 when he was born. Behind a Hellfire Club plot to steal the elder Bradley’s invention and the first sentinel, there’s a really great story of Bradley meeting his mother and father and actually delivering himself after his father died at the hands of the Sentinel (which coincided with the 1906 California Earthquake) and his mother dying while giving birth to him. This is the best single issue of Uncanny X-Men that I’ve read in quite some time. 21/24.
-Wolverine First Class #16- Wolverine teams up with Shadowcat and a young Siryn to protect Dazzler who is performing at the Superbowl (a game between the Collossals and the Sea-Eagles, whose colors look a lot like the Giants and Eagles. Hmmm.) This was a lot of fun to read and Peter David really knows how to use the characters and keep them both current and keep their place in continuity. 22/25.
-Wolverine: Noir #3- Wolvie reveals to Mariko that he wanted to propose to a woman named Rose but lost control when he saw Dog making out with her. Since then, Logan had always kept watch over Dog, who was now missing. Logan, unfortunately, is too beat up to do anything and collapses at the feet of Creed. I really like this retelling of Wolverine. The Noir stuff really makes these people human and powerless and still keeps the mythology of their characters alive while in 1930’s America. 23/26.
-Wolverine Weapon X #3-Wolverine takes out the super-human soldiers while the base company in America is revealed to the Senate for what they really are. Maverick is the one protecting those who want to take down the company in the states. The company, thanks to its smooth-talking CEO, is able to sway the Senate in his favor and pulls the troops out of Colombia, leaving Wolvie there by himself. There’s actually a lot of intrigue in this story and it goes beyond the usual Wolvie slice and dice enemies and makes it an actual tale of Wolvie taking on a bigger mystery than what he perceives. 24/27.
-X-Factor #45- Cortex is controlling Shatterstar as he attacks Rictor and Strong Guy as Madrox is in the future dealing with a decrepit Dr. Doom. Some onlooker is watching the future events and calls to Cortex for help, breaking his hold on Shatterstar. So Cortex can stretch his abilities through time, too. There’s an odd moment when Shatterstar and Rictor kiss at the end. This is an awesome comic and the most consistent X-Title by far. 25/28.
-X-Force #16- The big ending sees Apocalypse come over and put an end to Stryfe’s control. The X-Men all head home, Cable and Hope move further along the timestream and Bishop is still off to find and kill Cable. The ending was kind of weird, with X-Force returning home one by one and X-23 trying to finish saving Boom-Boom, and I don’t know if she did. Ending aside, this was kick-ass and Crain’s art was exceptional here. Whoever is doing the inking really muddies up the art of Crain enough to give it that gritty post-apocalyptic feel. 26/29.
-X-Men: Forever #2- Wolverine appears to be dead, though the adamantium-corpse they find is missing a claw, Sabretooth attacks Storm and she’s aided by the X-Men, including Rogue who was knocked out a few panels before and now amazingly well enough to fight. It seems Storm has blinded Sabretooth, too. I still like Fury’s involvement here, though I am worried that this story will sputter out of steam before too long. 27/30.
DC
-Detective Comics #854- Batman is dead an no longer in charge of Detective Comics. Who gets the honor? Batwoman (with a sub-feature, um, featuring The Question). The first story is pretty good, with Batwoman trying to find out who will be the new religious cult leader, the same cult that caused her to be stabbed through her heart. The new leader is here and Batwoman shoots her. The Question, meanwhile, helps a man find his lost sister. I was really digging the Batwoman stuff and I will be keeping this title in the pull box. 1/1.
-Final Crisis Aftermath: Ink #2- Ink learns that one is his rogue tattoos killed a man and brought him some counterfeit money. So Ink goes about taking down this criminal activity and running afoul of the crooked cop who is running the whole operation. Throw in a kid who is getting in with the wrong crowds and this is an interesting story of a reformed criminal who is facing problems other super-heroes aren’t. 2/2.
-Green Lantern #42- I’m jumping on this halfway in so if I mess up some main plot point, don’t get too pissed off! It seems the Green Lanterns are battling Gonzo, who holds the Orange Lantern (it represents greed). They are fighting over a blue ring they have when the elders show up and stop the hostilities and send Gonzo to the Blue Lantern home. A teaser at the end for the Black Lantern has me PUMPED for the Blackest Night. Like GL Corps, I was able to hop on this halfway through and enjoy it. Awesome stuff and Johns (along with Abnett and Lanning in Marvel) are completely rewriting all these cosmic stories. 3/3.
-Justice League of America #34- The JLA beat Starbreaker with the help of these Milestone characters that we’ll never see again. This whole story felt like a big inside wink to fans of Milestone, which I am not, and I just didn’t care for any of this storyline. I felt the ending was a bit too rushed, too. This huge villain is stopped with a bullet to the head. That seems a bit ant-climactic. 3/4.
-Justice Society of America #28- The Spectre brings some of the JSA to the past to help the original members of the team stop Kung and the spirits of Hiroshima. This was a nice two-parter in between big arcs and where the JLA has tons of characters we don’t know (and were never really introduced to), Ordway makes sure we know who all these characters are and have more human plotlines than JLA, especially with Damage and Stargirl at the end. 4/5.
-Superman #689- Mon-El takes a tour of the world, helping heroes from other countries while he sees the sights. He’s accepted by everyone as soon as they find out he’s not Kryptonian. Meanwhile, General Lane puts a hit out on Steel and someone at the end is willing to cash in. This was a great issue and I really like Mon-El as the star of this story. 5/6.
Vertigo
-Northlanders #18- This is a tale of three women whose husbands have been killed by the invading Saxons. They take up camp in a mini-fortress, bury the treasure they have and fend off the warriors that want to kill them. This is an interesting twist on the series, showing women not just as subservient victims but as strong as their male counterparts and not afraid to take a stand. 1/1.
Awards
-Book of the Week- Uncanny X-Men #512 was an amazing stand alone issue and was my favorite for the week. For once I feel that the X-Men are back to where they should be and that is one of the top titles in Marvel. The Dark Reign tie-in coming next month should really elevate the mutants.
-Disappointment of the Week- Ms. Marvel and DR: Zodiac both lost a point this week but I don’t expect much from those titles. Astonishing X-Men was a huge disappointment but it isn’t even in the top 5 of X-Titles anymore. Justice League of America is DC’s premiere team book and for the past few months it has been terrible. So JLA #34 is our dubious winner of the week.
-Cover of the Week- Avengers/Invaders #12 was the star cover in a week of decent but unspectacular covers. There’s not much else to say about Alex Ross and his covers anymore. He’s won this 23 times and it looks like he’ll keep winning.
-The Bottom Line- Both companies had some missteps but having four duds out of 37 issues is nothing to cry about. There were some really good comics in here and the highlight of the week for me is the X-Men regaining its stature as one of the best titles in Marvel again.
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