|
|
 |
14 Marvels, 13 DC’s and 1 Wildstorm title result in a total of 28 total books. You know, I start with the layout of this on Wednesday as soon as I get the issues and usually I fill out the intro and everything else later. In fact, I already finished the whole thing as I write this! So 28 books, and this is the start of what is going to be a great week.
Spoiler Alert
The Main Event
-Darktower: The Long Road Home #1- And so it begins anew, the Darktower series was such a runaway success that Marvel and Stephen King had no choice but to continue. We see Roland in despair over Susan’s death, and shoots the seeing sphere. To Alain and Cuthbert’s surprise, the sphere breaks but left in its place is an eye with tentacles! It pops onto Roland’s head and puts him in some sort of coma. He sees the dead members of the Hambry posse, including an alive Clay who says they are after the trio. The two of them pick up their comatose friend and evade the posse, ending up at a waterfall. We then see Sheemie, a mentally challanged servent who loved Susan, ends up in Dogan and comes face to face with some sort of robot! The prose tale, by Robin Furth, tells a very spooky story of Arthur Eld’s dead wife, Rowena, appearing in ghost form and leading Eld to Dogan, where he is attacked by a group of robots. This title is seriously an amazing piece of literature. You just get immersed in the story. You really don’t even need to have read any of the books (which I haven’t) or even the original mini-series to not enjoy this. The art is just beautiful, as the team of Lee and Isanove really make the art leap off the page. 1/1, and a very strong start for Marvel this week.
-Tangent: Superman’s Reign #1- This is the first I’ve really come in contact with the Tangent Universe (aside from its appearance in a recent issue of JLA). Basically, the TU Flash is in our world (she’s a woman) and runs into our Flash who is battling a TU villain. She and Flash get the Lantern from the afformentioned JLA issue, are joined by John Stewart, and they all end up getting sucked into the TU Universe! In the TU universe we see their version of a Lantern, a villain that just left prison after 10-years and a whole lotta police state stuff going on. The best part of the issue was the back-up story showing a brief history of the TU world. I really liked this issue and I look forward to how this mini-series plays out, with a black Superman and a new cadre of variations on our favorite heroes. 1/1.
Marvel
-Amazing Spider-Man #554- Spidey saves Crowne, who blames him for Freak. Spidey and Freak fight an epic battle in the burning apartment where Freak found some meth. The place burns to the ground and Peter loses his mask. The police arrive so he has no time to leave. He ditches his costume and comes out as Parker, posing as a photographer. He does get $2000 for his pictures. For some reason, Spider-Man visits JJJ and when Spidey tells him about the Bugle being sold, JJJ has another heart attack. Peter learns from his lady friend, Carlie, about Connors visiting her about Freak. Spidey visits Connors and gets a serum for Freak. He can’t find him but goes off into the snow. 2/2.
-Avengers Classic #10- First the reprint. We have Immortus making an appearance (his first?) and tricks the Avengers into fighting themselves. The Avengers eventually fight a bunch of myths and legends of times past and finally get the better of Immortus and the Masters of Evil. The back-up, drawn awesomly by Juan Doe, details Rick Jones showing up in the past thanks to Immortus. He is in a prison cell and speaks to a prisoner there before Cap shows up and saved him. I really liked the back-up tale and it is enough to pick up a point. 3/3.
-Captain America #36- The new Cap battles the Serpent Squad, takes them out, and has a brawl with Crossbones. Bucky is almost beat but Black Widow shows up and shoots him. Skull learns about the new Cap and has a laught about it. Cap tries to settle the rioters outside of DC but fails and only gets caught on TV. Sharon is walking somewhere and happens upon a containment cell with, Steve Rogers? Hmm, interesting. This had a lot more action than previous issues and the series has not had a bad issue yet. 4/4.
-Captain Marvel #4- We see some SHIELD agents digging up the grave of Capt. Marvel. Mar-Vell is having problems with his reality. He was told by a Skrull that he, too, is a Skrull. He doesn’t know what to believe and neither does Tony. He sees Mar-Vell hook up with the cult in his name and they head to war-torn Sudan where Mar-Vell sees one of the cult members killed. He vows, in front of a newscamera, that he wants to protect the world and save it. Tony asks Ms. Marvel to see if he’s the real Mar-Vell by seeing if his nega-bands he wears puts him in the Negative Zone. It does, and Mar-Vell, though pissed about the betrayal, sees a portal that may have brought him into the future! Really good issue. The Secret Invasion stuff is really interesting and the guy that came back, if he was a Skrull, would be an interesting twist. 5/5.
-Foolkiller #4- The owner of TOINTHEBUSH.COM (The Cheese) is worried about Foolkiller taking out his men and making his way up to him. The Cheese calls in an assassin, an old man with a wicked way to use knives. Basically we see Foolkiller kill some more, Sickle Moon (the assassin) goes after McBride’s daughter(taking out some policemen along the way) but finds McBride and the daughter have escaped. I wonder how the showdown between Sickle and Foolkiller will go. This was very graphic and in some ways it appeals to me. It isn’t a funny gory, or even inappropriate. It is dark, gritty, and although will have no shelf-live after the mini, it is a very cool interpretation of the character. 6/6.
-Ghost Rider #21- Ghost Rider is still pissed at the angel Zadkiel and has abducted a kid that had a meeting with him. We learn that the nurses are really agents of the angel and they want to keep the boy silent. GR takes them down and rides away. We also learn about the ghosts that murdered the couple from last issue. Apparantly, as one of the new cops investigates, the plot of land is home to where a group of settlers heading west ended up snowbound and started killing each other for food. Only one survivor was found and his ancestor still lives there. It seems that ancestor still has a cannibalistic side and cuts off the hand of the cop. I like that GR seems to have a confrontation in store with these cannibal ghosts. Aaron has come onto this title and has done a bang-up job. 7/7.
-Immortal Iron Fist #13- The seven capital cities are still engaged in their fight but Iron Fist has other things on his mind, specifically Xao and Davos conspiring to destroy K’un L’un through a portal that Jeryn (one of Danny’s employees) is building. So Iron Fist confronts Yu-Ti, telling him ne knws about the portal he has and tells him it’s going to end. Yu-Ti mobilizes the troops to destroy the portal. So Danny sides with Prince of Orphans and the Prince tells all the combatants of the seven cities of Xao’s actions and they all team up to stop him, except Davos, who goes and meets with his father. His father tells him his black heart will be the end of him. We finally see Xao open the portal with the combatants looking back, ready to kick some ass. I thought last issue was a little confusing but this one really brought some fantastic writing and plot and Fraction and Brubaker are just killing on this title. 8/8.
-Incredible Hercules #115- Hercules tries to stop Cho from destroying SHIELD and their computers but Hercules’ cries are falling on deaf ears. It gets worse when Ares shows up. Ares and Hercules have an epic battle which Hercules eventually wins. Hercules then goes to Cho and basically tells him that he just wants to destroy SHIELD out of anger, and anger doesn’t fix anything. Cho finally relents and the two teleport to the home of Athena, where she warns them that a war is coming. I didn’t think the art was too great but we finally see Hercules imparting some knowledge of his life experiences to Cho and Cho coming to a realization about his anger and himself. Extremely well-written. 9/9.
-Iron Man #27- Iron Man was knocked three miles away after the blast but he has a big problem on his shoulders, mostly the UN and the UN’s desire to try Stark and his officers due to them using a WMD in Nebraska. Stark and all know that Mandarin is behind this and try to get the UN to back off for a while so they can nail Mandarin. Maya, meanwhile, is told by Stark she needs to map a sequence for the Extremis virus but she initially refuses because she knows what harm it can cause. Eventually Stark convinces her so Maya codes it and hands it over, right to Mandarin, who had been hypnotizing her! Looks like trouble! Background character Jack Kooning escapes from SHIELD and meets a man with an eyepatch! He calls him Xang, though, so I guess it isn’t Fury. I really didn’t like Iron Man when it first started but ever since he took over for SHIELD, these stories have been really good reads. 10/10.
-Order, The #9- We learn the origin of Dennis, aka Heavy, and needing a metal lung to stay alive. Heavy leads the Order in an attack against the Dahlia’s and SHADOW. Mulholland escapes but is recaptured again and put in some sort of torture device that will cause all of LA to kill each other. The Order is captured and imprisoned far underground. The villain unleashes an EMP, which basically shuts down Heavy’s armor and causes him to start to die! Uh-oh!!! Pepper had called Stark and I hope he is on his way! This started out a little confusing, with way too much going on and it really killed the title. The last issue is next month but I think had they started off a little simpler, it would have worked. This story was very interesting. 11/11.
-Thor #7- Thor collapses from bringing back all his friends to Asgard and goes for the Odinsleep in a box where he is between life and death. He dreams of his father’s last battle with Surtur and not being able to bring him back from the dead. Thor learns that this actually happened to Odin and his father. Thor learns that this is all cyclical and Odin did not save his father, just like Thor did not save his. This definitely implies that this will happen to Thor and his son not saving him. This was very well-written and I loved the mythology behind it, and the father issues of Thor and even Odin. It all makes perfect sense. 12/12.
-Wolverine Origins #23- Wolverine and Deadpool fight some more, with Logan not going into bezerker rage like Deadpool wanted. Wolvie cuts off Deadpool’s fingers so he can’t shoot. There’s one scene of a Capt. America costume on the bed which I don’t understand. Wolverine and Deadpool are both stabbed and seemingly dead at the end of the issue. This was really one extended fight and I like how Way is handling Deadpool. Origins has been a great title after the rocky start. 13/13.
-World War Hulk Aftersmash: Warbound #4- Korg and Hiriom fight with Korg needing to kill Hiriom to stop the gamma shield. The rest of the Warbound battle Leader and learn that if the gamma shield goes down, the whole world may be in danger. So Hiriom seems dead but gets better when he learns this and they vow to kill the Leader. I wasn’t terribly blown away by this, but there was nothing bad about it. I can’t not give it a point because it wasn’t bad, so a perfect week for Marvel. 14/14.
DC
-Batman and the Outsiders #5- Batman is in the crosshairs of someone but his wife shows up and they kiss. It isn’t really touched upon again who they are. So the Outsiders are still breaking into the missile launch command center and fight a huge robot. They eventually reconvene but can’t stop the blast-off, but Metamorpho found himself on the rocket with the astronauts. Green Arrow doesn’t know if he wants to join the team and somehow the ghosts of Ralph and Sue Dibny show up to help out the team. That was weird, and there are two plot points that are just there, the two sharpshooters and the Dibny’s coming out of left field. I wonder if Metamorpho and the astrounauts are heading to the planet of villains or what’s going to happen from here. This gets a point, but barely. 2/2.
-Birds of Prey #116- Huntress fights Lady Blackhawk, who is under the Killer Shark’s control. She leads him to a stash of gold and he loves it. Unfortunately, his serum cannot control her and eventually her subconscious takes over. Huntress is freed due to this and the two take out Killer Shark. Misfit and Black Alice fight, with Alice stealing Misfits powers. Alice eventually leaves. We do learn that Misfits powers are magic based. Oracle discovers where the source of the Metropolis bomb came from, a utopian city called Platinum Flats and Manhunter cannot get any information. The last two pages reveal a man talking to a kid, Arthur, who can sculpt things that seemingly come alive. The man warns him to stop making those things. There was a lot of stuff going on but a few oddities, too. Alice left and Oracle didn’t really care. Misfit was very petulant then starts worrying about Zinda and Helena to which Oracle scolds her for. Also, a huge gaff by having Gail Simone’s name on the cover for script when ut was Sean McKeever who wrote it. Still, Sean has kept the title moving and this was a nice conclusion to Zinda’s little storyline. 3/3.
-Brave and the Bold #11- Metamorpho is under the control of Megistus and he fends off the Challangers to get the Green Lantern (the actual lantern). While this is happening, Ultraman and Superman fight but Ultra was sent there by Mr. Mixyezpitelik. He is the voweled version of the enemy we know and he tells them they need to stop Megistus or a red storm (go SJU!) will envelop Earth and destroy it. Megistus has set up base in the middle of the sun and the two fly over to confront him at the moment that Metamorpho throws the Lantern into the sun, making it green, and causing the powers of the two men to wane. Interesting things are happening in B&B and the team-ups have remained fresh, things we haven’t seen in a while. I look forward to the conclusion. 4/4.
-Catwoman #77- Catwoman enjoys being in her fake world (though she doesn’t know it is fake yet), taking out Superman, Batman (three times), Green Lantern and Flash. Lex Luthor, in the villain world, leaves Catwoman to die in the prison she’s in. Martian Manhunter shows up in Catwoman’s perfect world and tells her that it is fake and it is killing her. She actually needs to convince herself to wake up and leave the prison in order to live. Catwoman does that then escapes into the world. Of course, we knew she escaped already thanks to Salvation Run, as she was seen in that issue already free. That’s the kind of things that reading these weekly will happen. SR should’ve been read after this one since SR takes the surprise out her escaping. Still, Catwoman is on quite a run here, as it has been consistently well-written and well-drawn. 5/5.
-Checkmate #24- Checkmate, I’m surprised to say, has been one of the best DC books in 2008. Checkmate, with help of JLA and JSA are trying to stop the Kobra outposts since they have 7 million people with altered DNA that can be used as a sort of weapon of mass destruction. All the forces have their hands full. Eventually someone tracks the money that is funding these operations to the Hamptons and some of the Pawns go investigate. To our, and their, surprise, we see some of the genetic experiments. They are breeding actual snake-people that are extremely deadly. There is no one that can get there before Kobra has it extremely fortified. They have no other option, they have to deploy the rooks, or robotic henchmen. That was a sweet reveal of the rooks and I really like Kobra as a terrorist organization of the DCU, sort of like AIM or Hydra. Snake-babies? That is cool. 6/6.
-Countdown to Final Crisis #06- This was definitely the most unique issue of Countdown to date. There are no word bubbles in here at all. Instead, it is narrated through journal entries of a Cadmus worker. He describes the heroes getting access to the facility, Una’s heartbreak, Atom trying to help, the virus morphing into a behemoth when taken out of Karate Kid, who is dead, and finally the grim realization that the virus was airborne before they even went to the facility. The Earth is in peril and it is quickly dying off. The virus is on the loose. Green Lantern heads out for help but he’s carrying the virus, too, and the whole universe is going to be infected. I thought this was one of the best issues so far, just because of the unique way it was written. 7/7.
-Death of the New Gods #7- The New Gods really are dying off and this is really the knock out blow. The real killer is revealed. No, it’s not Himon, but someone impersonating him. That person? The Infinity Man. I guess Himon is now dead. Anyway, Superman battles Infinity Man but is quickly trapped. He witnesses a battle between Infinity Man and Mister Miracle who uses the anti-life power to battle him. IM tricks him and he makes MM break the Source Wall! Thus the beginning of the end. The Source is now complete, and he kills MM and Metron. Superman flies off to find Infinity Man who I don’t think is a factor anymore. Anyway, the Source confronts Darkseid at the end. It looks like one helluva final issue next month. 8/8.
-Flash #238- I didn’t think Flash could get more interesting than he has been but this one really took the character in a new direction. Flash is short on money and feels like a bad father. Flash confronts a villain named Spin who has a TV screen for a face. Both Flashes show up to stop him and Wally makes a comment to the TV about being stressed because this job doesn’t pay. Of course, this gets all over TV and the media has a field day with it. Spin confronts Flash at the end of the issue at a baseball field and the next thing you know, he has a room full of money and jewelry he may have stolen! Wow! He’s evil! Of course, any superhero had to have thought of getting some quick cash somewhere along the way. I really like where this character turn is heading. 9/9.
-Justice League of America #19- The JLA, despite Waller’s protests, head to the planet where the villains had been sent to. So the JLA shows up and the place is desolate. All of them get captured (except Kendra, who can break free of the bonds) and the true villain is found out to be Kanjar Ro, who I have never heard of. The JLA is not captured for long and they escape to confront the villain, capture him, then head home. Kanjar tells the JLA that the villains never made it to this planet as they were taken away by another force. Batman vows that wherever they are, the villains have hell to pay. This was good enough, though Kanjar was defeated way too easily. 10/10.
-Robin #172- Robin is working with the police officers now and invades an illegal casino. He runs into Violet, who steals some more money. Robin eventually has to help her escape as the police are brought in to arrest the criminals. Spoiler has her eyes on Robin and we find out it is a blonde haired girl, possibly Stephanie. Penguin rejoices in the capture of one of his foes that Robin busted. I can’t say I was blown away by this, but the multiple storylines are starting to converge and the mystery around Spoiler continues. 11/11.
-Shadowpact #23- Shadowpact chases an imp who has a threshing box, a box that can take human souls. They say it’s the third one they stopped this week. There’s a reason for it. Dr. Gotham and Blue Devil’s brother are collecting souls to revive the Sun King. Speaking of Blue Devil, he tells of his last task (beating a giant spider with a blender), then we see him fight to get his soul back in hell. The Vatican won’t help but his lawyer is able to read the law of the land and Blue Devil uses his ranking in hell to command his brother to get rid of the curse. His brother does but tells BD he will regret it. Blue Devil is a human again. Phantom Stranger appears to Shadowpact and they are told that they need to stop the Sun King. Shadowpact says they aren’t powerful enough to do it but they meet the ones that will help them, Shadowpact from 1908 and 2108. I think this title is ending soon, but it is the best magic book on the stands now and is always entertaining. 12/12.
-Superman / Batman Annual #2- This one must’ve taken place very early in the careers of the Bats and Supes. Superman goes to visit Batman, and Batman knows his identity, and they talk about a JLA type of group? Anyway, they encounter a supervillain with the ability to make people think and do things he wants. He actually manages to depower Superman, too. Clark is really depressed until Bruce Wayne visits him. He actually lifts up Clark’s spirits. Clark tries to go out on his own in a super costume (with a name Supernova) and has a run in with Joker. He fights out of fear but recovers his powers in time to stop the supervillain from really messing with Bruce. Even the supervillains powers never really were explained that well, the story was very entertaining, a quick read, and the art was magnificent. Excellent job on this annual, a million times better than the first. 13/13, a perfect week for DC.
Wildstorm
-The Programme #9- Well, we have a lot of characters on the table, now. Chivers kidnaps Hinks (he originally brainwashed Max back in the sixties) and after a beating, Hinks says he can reprogram Max. Max, meanwhile, fights one of the Russians and a child ends up dead. Max walks off and meets his girlfriend who urges him to keep fighting. The girlfriend seems to have the strings pulled by someone else. The other US superpowered man, Senator Joe, is involved in a race war down south and takes out some helicopters. This is turning out to be really interesting and after a misstep a few issues ago, the pace has been picked up. 1/1.
Awards
-Book of the Week- Darktower was the easy winner, picking up both the awards this week, which has only happened five times before (Cap #34, Marvel Zombies 1 & 2, Robin 163 & 168). This was just a well-written, well-drawn epic. It really is epic in stature. This was a fantastic introductory issue.
-Disappointment of the Week- Unfortunately, even though it was a perfect week, there has to be a winner. I really racked my brain about what was the biggest disappointment and I think I have to go with JLA #19. There was a villain who was defeated, in my opinion, way too easily. I always complain about dragging stories out but this definitely could have gone on a bit longer.
-Cover of the Week- Darktower #1: Long Road Home by Jae Lee wins this week. It was just a fabulous issue and the art is really majestic. I love Lee’s art and Isanove’s inks just really complement it.
-The Bottom Line- Well, it was just a perfect week. 28 out of 28 is nothing to sneeze out and I really enjoyed the comics this week. I actually breezed through the 28 titles in only 2 days, that’s how much I liked them. A great, stellar, week. Of course, to end on a depressing note, there’s nowhere to go but down. This was just a great week.
|
|
|
|
|
Questions? Comments? Shoot me an email.
|
|
|
|