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This TPL edition comes fresh off a 3-day weekend, a nice relaxing weekend where I had to grade 120 tests due to the first quarter ending and first quarter exams being administered. Nevertheless, I strive to get this out on time for all my loyal readers. This week features 23 total titles, (breakdown as follows: 13 Marvels, 9 DCs and 1 Wildstorm) and I also picked up the Heroes graphic novel. I had the standard cover until I was introduced to the wonderful Alex Ross cover and immediately picked that one up. The review on that hardcover won’t be for a while, though, but at least you can read the TPL!
Spoilers Ahead
Main Event
-Annihilation: Conquest #1– The hits keep on coming in the opening salvo of this mini-series. Blastaar tries to lead the Kree against the Phalanx, Warlock brings Moondragon and Quasar to his secret hiding place in the sun and his master, High Evolutionary. We also see the mastermind behind the whole thing, Ultron. This was a great opening with stunning reveals on every page. This is how a big event should start off. Great art, great writing, great surprises. This should be another great mini-series.
-New Avengers: Illuminati #5- The Illuminati mini finally ends, after what seems like forever since the first issue hit. The group comes together one last time to deal with the Skrull body they have found. The big reveal is that Black Bolt is really a Skrull (for how long, we don’t know) and attacks the rest of the group. They fight back and defeat him and the others around but now they can’t trust each other. Who can you trust? Whose side are you on? Wait, wrong mini-series. Still, I enjoyed the ending here. This is a nice set up to Secret Invasion and given the events of the first issue creates a perfect five-issue mini-series. Great job on this one.
Marvel
-Annihilation Conquest – Starlord #4- Mantis frees Starlord and the rest of the captives while the Uni-Force infiltrates the Phalanx to see how to stop the contagion. They end up escaping with the help of some Kree warriors and head back. Starlord is informed he will still work with these guys as Annihilation Conquest begins.
-Crimimal #10- Part two of Brubaker’s and Phillips run concludes with Tracy finding out what really happened to his brother. I won’t spoil anything since this is a must-read book that can’t be missed, but Tracy finds it harder to leave the life of crime once you’re in it. Awesome stuff here.
-Howard The Duck #2- Howard has become an overnight sensation after appearing on MeTube and beating up two hunters. He appears on a local talk show when all hell breaks loose. Howard senses something isn’t right and we know that behind the scenes MODOT is pulling strings, though we don’t know his nefarious scheme yet. This has just be a fun read thus far. This was enjoyable.
-Immortal Iron Fist #10- This is starting to get a bit tough to follow, especially if you don’t read the blurbs in the beginning. We see some history between Orson Randall and Davos where they fought at this tournement many years ago, with Randall coming out the winner and losing his friend in the process. Danny is not at the tournement. He was able to leave through a portal with the help of Orson’s daughter but Davos and his men are on his trail. When they learn Iron Fist is out, they order K’un L’un destroyed. I didn’t really like this issue. It will read better in trades than as a comic book, though.
-Iron Man: Enter The Mandarin #3- An injured Tony Stark battles, and is bested, by Scarecrow, at the request of Mandarin. He steals something from Stark and when he looks to see what’s on it. Stark homes in on him and dispatches him. Mandarin sends his son after Stark and at issues end, he has Stark at gunpoint. This has a great old-time feel to it, which I like, and has been good so far. I like this better than the ongoing title right now.
-Ms. Marvel #21- Ok, let’s try and get this straight. Cru attacks Ms. Marvel but he’s not really an enemy. Turns out there are Brood all over Monster Island and they need to stop it. Cru is actually a female that’s inside of Ms. Marvel and they need to stay connected in their mind to restore their power and health. Ms. Marvel breaks the communication and finds herself on Monster Island. She rejoins with Cru as a ton of Brood come down upon them. I didn’t really did the Cru story or where it’s going (yet) though the addition of Machine Man was a great idea. He battled Crew and his body was destroyed but he had an LMD, in the body of Captain Marvel. Good touch there.
-Mystic Arcana: Sister Grimm #1- Sister Grimm is better known as Nico from the Runaways and this is a story focusing on an early battle with another magician, one who took a page of the Darkhold. That magician shows up in the McNee back-up tale to give him the page. He restores the balance of power in magic, but loses his soul, in the process. The Mystic Arcana books have all been fun to read but I wonder what the point of them were? There really wasn’t a strong magic element to Marvel as there is in DC and so when DC had Days of Vengeance during Infinite Crisis, it had consequences which are still being played out. Here, the only magician most know in Marvel is Dr. Strange and he’s been absent the whole time. Will this bring magic back to Marvel in a prominent role? I doubt it.
-The Order #4- The Order continue to battle the Zobo’s amid scrutiny from the press. They are looking for Calamity who we think is beating up the man who caused him to lose his legs but instead he is playing Wii with him. This issue focuses on Magdalena, a former model-actress who just wants to help kids. Avona reveal (in spirit form) to Mulhollan Black that someone in the Order had a hand in her death. I really love Kitson’s art but I just don’t care about what’s going on here. I don’t think the title will last long, as most of the Initiative things will probably be forgotten when the next big thing comes around. What is the point of this title in the long run? It doesn’t have an effect on anything in the MU right now and hasn’t really done anything to establish new heroes.
-Silver Surfer: In Thy Name #1- Silver Surfer is riding around, as usual, and comes upon a utopian society on a ship. He hangs around there, goes to another planet ravaged by some horror, and when he steps in is called a savior! I guess the “In Thy Name” refers to Surfer being revered as a god (which happened in Requiem number 3 incidentally). I could take this or leave it at this point. The story and art were good enough that I don’t regret spending the three dollars but it wasn’t great enough for me to worry if I missed the next few issues.
-Super-Villain Team-Up #5- The mini-series ends on a very good note. This is double-cross after double-cross galore, as you don’t know who is on whose side and who is working for who. The Rocket Racer has the hypernova which the Super Adaptoid steals. It wasn’t really the nova and it turns out to be a hologram. So Laser finds it after defeating the Mandarin and becomes one with it, to be human again. Armadillo, Deadly Nightshade, and Puma return to Modok, who had the real Hypernova the whole time (before Spot could give it to Mandarin) and was just waiting for Super Adaptoid to turn. He gives each of them over $10 million dollars, then gives the hypernova to his ex-girlfriend, where it detonates, killing her. Modok is back! He is built up as a strange, mastermind, which is where he should be. Let’s see him in the MU now.
-World War Hulk: Gamma Corps #4- I hated this series when it first started (the first two issues I thought were awful) but the last two were really strong and made me happy I stuck with this book. The Gamma Corps each have their reasons for fighting the Hulk and they think he’s crippled and they’ve won. Hulk heals, smashes, and most importantly uses his brain to show each of the members they’ve been duped into working for General John Ryker. Hulk gets his revenge, taking Ryker’s base down, and the Gamma Corps have realized the true enemy, and vow to take them out. That enemy? The Illuminati.
DC
-Countdown Special: Jimmy Olsen- This reprints three classic Jimmy Olsen stories from the 70’s and features art by Jack “King” Kirby. The stories featured some New Gods and capture a great Silver Age feel. I never saw King draw Superman before, or Olsen, but this was something. His art got better as he progressed and though I could still tell it was Kirby, his Superman rendition was awesome.
-Countdown Presents: The Search for Ray Palmer – Red Rain #1- The search for Ray Palmer resumes as we visit the Red Rain world. Red Rain is a world where Batman is an actual Bat Man, and he happens to be a vampire. That world’s Dick Grayson tries to kill the Bat Man and for some reason the Challengers interfere. Grayson is bitten and becomes a vampire Robin while the Challengers leave, to search for Palmer again. This mini serves its basic purpose as an introduction to each of the unique universes and possibly hopes to sell some old trades (Red Rain, Gotham by Gaslight, etc) in the process.
-Countdown to Final Crisis #25- Firestorm helps the Legionnaires to get into Bludhaven, defeating the Atomic Knights in the process. They burst through the final doors of the underground complex and Firestorm sees the horrific truth, Desaad with Stein. What follows is even more shocking, Desaad becomes Firestorm. That was the main thread of the story but some other plots were advanced, too. The Pied Piper and Trickster manage to escape from Deadshot, Olsen is on Apokolips, in prison, as Mary Marvel is brought to Darkseid. Is it just coincidence they are both there at the same time? I think not. This issue featured something that I have missed from Countdown, some really good art. I love Lim’s work and it actually made the whole issue a lot more enjoyable for me. I’ve said it before, when the issue focuses on one main story it is a lot easier to read. Sometimes the jumping back and forth between 6 stories in one issue can be a bit jarring.
-Infinity Inc. #3- Natasha reappears to save Steel from the being known as Kid Empty. Kid Empty dies, and Sally Dwyer is dead. Natasha, Gerome, and Erik are now living together and find a trail of boxer shorts (no joke) leading to Dale Smith. They investigate and find a girl who can replicate things. Eric transforms into a woman, and knocks her out. Kid Empty shows up and takes Natasha at episodes end. Some mysterious person visits Steel, too. There’s a back-up story where some shape-shifter from the Everyman project wonders why the three (Erik, Gerome, and Natasha) are living together.
-Metal Men #4- The Metal Men stop Chemo, who disappears, and Helen leaves Will. In the present, the Metal Men look for Magnus but can’t find him, fight one of the Un-Metal men and find UNION, and avoid an M80’s attack. Magnus, out of time, meets with his brother. Magnus must destroy the Metal Men or the world will die. The mini-series seems to be going through past and present and that could be confusing if not done well. Luckily Rouleau makes it work.
-Metamorpho Year One #3- The origin of Metamorpho continues. Sapphire stops Simon from shooting Rex, and Rex demands to be normal. Simon says he will help but we know he wants Rex to stay the way he is. Rex is kidnapped by an associate of Simon named Maxwell Tremaine, an arms dealer. Simon rescues Rex. This issue really didn’t go anywhere, showing that it possibly should’ve been a 4 part mini-series. Really not much done here.
-Robin #168- This is part 1 of the Resurrection of Ra’s Al Ghul. The awesome starts right away with Damian breaking into the Batcave looking for Batman. He is scared that Ra’s is trying to take his body. Batman is off in search of Ra’s and runs into Talia. He calls home but Robin is not there, he’s too busy fighting Damian. Alfred tries to get them to stop since they are fighting for the wrong reasons but they are still at it, as ninjas descend upon the Wayne Manor. They want Damian unharmed but the rest can die. This will be continued in Nightwing. This was a great opening and I loved every panel of it.
-Supergirl #23- Supergirl is sent a gift that she can’t see and when she opens it there is just a message that says Mistake. It was a gift from Batman telling Supergirl that even though her body is indestructible she needs to use her head. Superman sends her on a mission to help the Lanterns during the Sinestro Corps war. She fails, because she wan’t following directions, and when she gets back she sees the message of mistake and flies off to try again. Decent enough for my liking.
-Superman #670- The Third Kryptonian Finale finally ends, with 5 Kryptonians appearing on the cover, and a sixth inside. We learn why Amalak hates Kryptonians. They wiped out his world. The Kryptonians band together, even the old one, and battle fiercely against him. Only Batman using Clark’s kid, Chris, turns the tide and allows Amalak to be defeated. The old one says she will take Amalak to the proper authorities and even turn herself in. Well, that ends that. I don’t think anyone really cared about another Kryptonian since there are so many already. What is one more? Amalak was easily dispatched in one issue, too. Superman is in a funk, I think. I loved right after OYL, the stories were fresh, but since about summer, none of the Superman books have seemed right.
Wildstorm
-Welcome To Tranquility: Armageddon #1- Maximum Man is brought to the future, the same future Midnighter saw last issue. This future features Tranquility still around, only because of a spell that kept it hidden. The spell didn’t last forever so as Maximum Man is there, another spell to send them to an alternate dimension is being planned. Acolyte tells Maximum Man not to stop the Armageddon since this is really the end of the world, Judgment Day. Maximum Man returns home, morphs to his old self, and forgets what he saw. I wasn’t familiar with any of these characters but this was an easy one to read, and a great introduction to them.
Awards
-Book of the Week- This has quickly become my new favorite book because of its consistency. This week the honor will again go to Robin, with issue #168 beginning the Ra’s storyline perfectly. Freddie Williams really captures the mood of Robin through his art and Milligan did a great job on the script here.
-Disappointment of the Week- This was a tough pick for me this week. I don’t like Infinity Inc, but I can’t say it disappointed me, I expect it I guess. I thinks Superman #670 will take the dubious distinction this time around. I just didn’t care for this Third Kryptonian business and don’t think it delivered at all.
-Cover of the Week- I honestly didn’t care for any of the covers this week but if I had to award a winner, it would be Robin #168. I’ve always been a fan of the Kuberts and Andy drew a pretty top-notch cover here.
-The Bottom Line- I figured I should have a little blurb on the bottom detailing my thoughts for the week. Let’s begin with what I read first, the Marvel books. Barring the “Main Event” titles, I wasn’t terribly impressed by the output this week. Most of the titles were, I don’t know, middling. Criminal was awesome as usual, and WWH Gamma Corps featured a great finish, but the other titles were just, eh. The main event Marvels were awesome, though. DC had an okay week, too. Most of the titles were hit or miss. The best ones being the Ra’s rebirth. Wildstorm was fun and I really enjoy the Armageddon stuff.
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Questions? Comments? Shoot me an email.
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