The Good , the Bad and the Ugly [9-26-09]

[SUPERECWFAN1]

Ok its been over a month. You can blame me for this due to being lazy or just too busy to post this. But here I am and its a new month and time. And were gonna run down the books you love (The Good) and that will stick in your collection/heart forever , those that aren't so good and have a few problems (The Bad) and those ya just wanna toss on the fire and make toilet paper out of ... (The Ugly).

Anyhow here we go .....SPOILERS AHEAD.



LAST CHANCE.....


The Good


http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o258/mguy1977/superman-secret-origin.jpg
Superman : Secret Origin #1 of #(6): The new era of Superman begins here. Or the latest revamp origin of Superman. Now some are asking... why revamp the origin so soon after Birthright ? Well... to hazard a guess I'll say its because Dan Didio wants the origin of the characters pushed out there under his run as EIC of DC and who better than the team of Geoff Johns and Gary Frank ?

To start it off young Clark Kent is playing a friendly game of tackle football with Pete Ross and others. Clark accidently breaks Ross's arm on a tackle and feels pretty guilty over it. Seems Pa Kent forbid young Clark from playin football and now that is something he has to admit.

Anyhow time passes and after some guilt , Lana Lang and Clark are in the gym alone. She pretty much kisses him and sets off his heat vision in a cute scene. This pretty much makes Pa have to reveal that Clark isn't from Earth and shows him the rocket ship from Krypton. Soon enough Clark freaks out and wants to be just like anyone else and that he wants to be his son , as Pa comforts him and says ... "You are my son."

Soon enough that same night young freaky Lex Luthor is getting beaten by his father as his sister begs him to stop. Lex discovers a piece of Kryptonite . At the Smallville Fair , Clark is now wearing his thick glasses to stop his heat vision episodes and meets Lex. The 2 share a funny moment and Lex nearly kills Clark by exposing him to Kryptonite then. But a sudden tornado hits and poor Lana is in the middle. Clark runs and flys into the air to save her....bringin them down in a creek alone....where Lana rewards Clark with another kiss and this time his heat vision is blocked by the glasses.

Back at home Ma and Pa Kent tell young Clark they have worked on him a costume to do his good deeds. He walks down and thinks he won't ever wear the Superman costume ever again. Cute....

Anyhow the backup if Geoff Johns director version of Blackest Night (in B & W). So is it worth it..... fuck yes it is. Its pretty damn awesome and the art is top notch people. You can tell Frank lovingly took his time on each character. The art is just beautiful. I was in awe of it . Plus the story is basically the 1st real big reboot back of Superman in 20+ years. This pretty much is the deal that kills Man of Steel now. Also , I love that Frank if ya look at Jonathon Kent , seems to draw him as a young John Schnieder from Smallville. Its that cool. This has HR written all over it.


Justice League : Cry for Justice #3 of (6): The team of Green Arrow , Green Lantern , Supergirl and the Atom have seemingly caught Prometheus . They have beaten the shit outta him to make him talk on why he's killed and done the things he has thus far. But no go. Soon enough the team learns its not Prometheus at all ! Its in fact a Clayface acting like him due to a hidden implant in his mind to do that. Before he blows up. We see the real Prometheus and he is at his hidden HQ as he details his plans to an underling. His origin is retold and how another man posed as him and made him look like a mockery for awhile. Before the real one showed up and killed him ! The underling is soon poisoned as Prometheus cooly tells him the poison will now make him have to re-learn to potty train and walk again. Brrr.....thats cold.

We see that Starman and Congerilla are working as a team flying the plane as they encounter some bad guys. Congerilla launches out and starts his fury on them. As Starman joins and the plane gets blown up. Mikaal admits he can't carry a wet Gorilla but Congerilla tells him he can swim to shore as Starman flies over head.

In the backup by Robinson he details his love of Prometheus and wants to restore him as Grant Morrison envisioned. A top rogue. We get a rundown of his past and all with appearances in JLA and the DCU . Pretty awesome and the art alone is pretty cool. I hope we see Mauro Cascioli on more books in the future.


Captain America Reborn #3 of (5) : Poor Steve Rodgers is stuck going thru his hell of Quantom Leaping thru moments of his life . He then relives the horror of being stuck in his frozen body in the ice as Namor is angry and raging at Alaskian fishermen who have found him and worship him. Poor Namor has no clue Rodgers is there and he's lost awhile longer. In the present Reed Richards and Namor go to the Artic where the body is buried in a special glass tomb. The body dissapears in front of Namors eyes as they have to get it back and test on what the hells going on asap !

On the plane carrying him poor Bucky is getting his ass kicked by the Thunderbolt Scourge. Bucky tells him , he will make him pay soon. But Scourge doesn't listen and joins Paladin and Ant-Man in the front of the plane. They have plans for Bucky as Norman Osborn claims.

Sharon Carter feels guilt over Steve Rodgers and knows she should turn herself in. Osborn has issued an arrest for her and as Black Widow and Vision try to tell her not to , the guilt is too much for Sharon. As she makes her decision to do what must be done.

Steve finally leaps to the Kree/Skrull War as he helps battle. He realizes he has to do something. So he corners Vision and asks if he can bury something deep....deep within his memory banks. Vision answers "yes" and Rodgers decides to go ahead and do it.

Back on the plane the Falcon ambushes the ship and helps distract Scourge and Paladin long enough for Ant-Man to showcase he could be a decent guy. He frees Bucky and tells him to not tell and not hit him too hard. Bucky then decides to teach Scourge a lesson on manners and beats his ass hard. Stomping him pretty good for measure as the Falcon and him leave the plane.

Elsewhere we see Sin and Crossbones unite with the Red Skull who reveals that Doctor Doom and Norman Osborn are working togethor. And that Sharon Carter is a key piece to this puzzle.

Pretty damn awesome . I love seeing all these juggling plot lines heading to a conclusion. Brubaker rules the world on Captain America !


Deadpool : Merc with a Mouth #3: Everyones favorite Merc is now being held hostage by Hydra ! Those assholes electric shock poor Wade a few times and hold Doctor Betty as their hostage. Wade however has a plan. A plan that will see him get free. If he can think of it. The zombie head of Wade however wants to eat and gets a hold of Hydra's leader who carries it.

Anyhow thinks look lost til the Savage Land cavemen want their head back and attack the Hydra ! Then Kazar to help get rid of these strangers from the Savage Land decides to lure a huge T-Rex their way. Its just a wild melee as the zombie head is tossed around like a football. In one moment the head bites the T-Rex and pages later its turned into a zombie monster ...ohhhh.

Up in space the AIM leader is taken to task and has to abort the mission. The GPS that Doctor Betty is wearing will be used to home in on a missle and destroy everything within a miles radius . Uh oh....

Is it worth it.... well the covers are a homage basically to Romero's "Dawn of the Dead" series and its pretty cool Deadpool covers. I for one like them a lot. Plus the story is pretty silly and fits in with what Deadpool is at times.


Adventure Comics #2 (505): Conner is busy trying to do what he thinks is right now and re-adjust to a year away. He then gets ready and nervous for his date with his old girlfriend Wonder Girl. Krypto even joins them in a cute scene in the air , under the moon at a picnic table. Cute.

Cassie calls Conner on wanting to be like Clark was as Superboy. Live with the Kents , go to Smallville High etc etc. And Conner admits he does...and wants to do whats right now that he has a 2nd chance. Cassie feels guilty over some kisses she gave Tim Drake (boy did that plot go anywhere huh ?) and the 2 make good as Ma Kent smiles from the kitchen.

Elsewhere the team of Lex Luthor and Brainac have broken free and are gonna raise some hell. Lex is happy reading about heroes dying and Superman leaving Earth awhile. Then he sees Superboy's return and is less than pleased.

The backup has a LSH story as Lightning Lad gets invited to see his brother on the prison planet of Takron-Galtos . Its there Lightning Lord informs his brother that he in fact does have a twin...and it could mean war with the Universe soon ! Ohh man.

Its a slow build. But what everyone is waiting on is how this LSH plot will play out and when Paul Levitz comes on this book and takes the LSH to new heights soon.

End of Part #1....part #2 coming.

[SUPERECWFAN1]

Uncanny X-Men #515: Finally free of the crossover that seemed to add more confusion to the book , the X-Men have seemingly stole a page from Aquaman a few years ago. The plot there was Sub Diego where half the city sinks into the ocean . Here the only differance is that the X-Men raised Avalon up and have the place as an island now. Their own island nation .

Its not easy as Scott tells them they will have to use their powers to make ice and melt it for fresh drinking water. As well as use Storm's powers to create electricity . Madison Jeffries will also have to use his powers to soon bring everything up to code inside the place for them to live.

Dr. Takaguchi sadly passes away that morning in his bed as Pysloche brings him some tea. His passing leads Beast and Scott to clash over some things . They decide soon enough they can't send him back to Japan. And they can't launch him into the sea. They decide to give him a viking funeral by fire as they say some words for him.

The entire situation at the leadership table seems to show some problems arising. Poor Emma clashes with Storm in a moment. Scott wants Emma to be more concerned but in her diamond form she can't as she's trying to contain the evil of the Void that way. Xavier is also concerned about this path Scott is on and tries to talk with him as he is on his way back to San Francisco.

Its there he asks the mayor for help and asks if there are any charges ahead. Should the X-Men be worried if they'll be fugatives ? No she claims ..there is none and she hopes Cyclops knows what he is doing now. Down below the island we see that Emma takes Danger on a tour and tells her that there are evils beyond what the X-Men know and shouldn't be released. We see Scott Shaw , the prisioner in his cell. Danger takes the job as warden now.

Back at the island , Scott and Emma seem to be having that conversation about being close , when ...MAGENTO returns. He's suprised at what they have done to the place as he wants his spot at the table I'm sure.

Its a good fun read and a step in the right direction. I think Utopia was a clusterfuck basically. But here....this kicks ass. I like the idea of the X-Men having an island for awhile. Plus the storylines Faction is doing seems to be long term.

Walking Dead #65: When we last left Rick and his group of weary travelers , they had been ambushed by a bunch of cannibals. The "Hunters" were a pack of men and women who had feasted on poor Dale's other foot. They wanted the others to be scared and not to kill them yet so they could eat them as well. So they left Dale on the ground and shot Glen as they managed to get back inside the church.

Inside Rick details the battle plan with Abraham. The "Hunters" want to make them scared and crazy. Instead their gonna turn the tables and go look for them as they ask the preacher if he knows the area. He does and will lead them to the closest houses. Dale and Andrea have a reunion as he admits he was bit and knows he could pass and she must kill him the moment he does. She tells him she loves him.

Back at the "Hunters" camp the leader gets info that Rick and others have left. He believes they are scared and have left some of them. Then Rick walks into the camp and details that he wants them to surrender now. And asks why ? The leader tells him they are hungry and that they have even ate their own children to live ! Holy fuck....and he will eat them too. Rick gives the order and they take them by suprise shooting the leaders ear off and his fingers.

In the final scene we see an angry Rick as he has an evil look...wondering what they'll do to them now ! Uh oh....

Awesome as usual. Kirkman really makes me wonder if this will be the moment Rick Grimes futher loses it or not.

Batman & Robin #4: The best new book of 2009 continues . As the new arc begins. The Red Hood and Scarlet are now cutting a path thru Gotham's bad guys. Batman and Robin are too late to stop the 1st victim and know they have to end this at some point. We see Dick and Damian at a society party as all the girls look and pinch Damian , suprised Bruce has such a cute son. Damian seems to like the attention. Dick is also getting attention as well here as Lucious Fox wonders where Bruce is and all.

Scarlet wonders about her face. If she's hidious under her face as the Red Hood comforts her. We see soon see Dick teaching Damian how to melt into his surrondings and spy across the street as we see Penquin and a new crime boss appear. He's calling in "The Flamingo" as his assassin to take care of Batman. Penquin is less impressed by this crime boss and his use of a bird name too.

Suddenly the Red Hood appears and kills 2 of the bosses at the table and thats the cue. Dick crashes in and is shocked to see the Red Hood as he asks "Jason ?"

Its pretty awesome. I really love the cover and the whole scenes of Dick and Damian hobnobbin with society. Trying to play the 2 roles now they have. Great read as usual people.


Brave & the Bold #27: J. Michael Straczynski arrives on Brave and the Bold finally ! And the 1st issue features a fun serious teamup issue of Bobby Reed and Batman. Ok...not Bobby Reed .Anyhow the story is of a street punk who watches as Bobby Reed and his grandfather checks into a motel. That night Reed decides he should try and help Batman ...but as Mental Man , the greatest physic that has ever lived. He uses his powers....and sees something that scares him.

Travers Milton is a street thief who has fallen on hard times. Going thru the motel he finds 20 bucks and the Hero Dial. He uses it on some whim and transforms into the STAR. He then starts saving people and finally feels good to be helping weirdly. And he keeps doing it. Then he runs into Batman....and the 2 share a short conversation and gets told he did some good .

The Joker has a plan and earlier one of the men tried to recruit Milton. Its there he decides to tell Batman who thanks him and swings off. That night Milton decides to help him stop the Joker and the 2 men work to try and stop the Jokers plan from blowing up part of Gotham and killing innocent people. Milton knows he's gonna die and with one heroic act he thanks fate for this chance...and dies saving lives.

At the end of the issue , Batman brings the Hero Dial to Bobby Reed . Bobby isn't happy at himself and saw whoever used it next would die. He was afraid of dying as Batman tells him that no child should die like that and thru him he allowed Milton to leave on a good note. That he showed what type of man he could be .

Great issue. I really loved this single issue stand alone story. And JMS wrote a very powerful tale. I honestly loved reading this book. I will keep getting this series if JMS keeps the good work he did here up.

end of part #2

[SUPERECWFAN1]

THE BAD

Blackest Night #3 of (8): I just have no idea why this book can't be good. I think its the rare moments of stupiedity and ignoring prior things to tell a SHOCKING STORY. I mean when this is written by Geoff Johns who has made a living outta accepting the past , its kinda wild he ignores things here. Then there is this ....

http://www.dccomics.com/dcu/comics/?cm=12829

At no point is the Spectre even mentioned in this issue or as a solution to anything. Wild...is DC even following what Johns is writing in this book ?
Anyhow the story continues as we see Jason Rusch and Genna (the girl who shares the Firestorm matrix with him) and Jason knows she wants to get married soon and have a family. Jason wants to take things slow and steady since he's in college and all.

Back at the battle scene with Hal , Barry and Ray ....the duo are fighting the returned Black Lantern League. Seems Ray Palmer managed to hitch a ride and save himself at a small level . He's saddened and bruised by the fact his friend Carter maybe dead for real this time.

Back at the JLA HQ , Jason has turned to Firestorm. Someone used Aquaman's signal to get in and it was Mera who suprises him . Its there the battle ends there and the Indigo Lanterns (don't ask me how they traveled across time and space so quick with really no warning of Blackest Night) with Hal's help use his powers to destroy the Black Lanterns . The Indigo Lanterns decide to speak and tell Hal that the power of the Lantern powers of every color can destroy the Black ones.

Another attack happens outta nowhere and soon Jason Rusch gets absorbed into the shocking body of Ronnie Raymond. Who we all saw blow up in Identity Crisis and now seems to have a body and can do this wild shit. He then reaches in and kills Genna....turning her to stone and pulling her heart out as poor Jason can't stop him. Jason that will make things go slow ya know....

The final scene has the JLA crypt and those dead rise.....like Doctor Light , Max Lord and others. Uh oh....

Beyond the good battle scenes , its just a story of WTF ? From the body of Ronnie Raymond , to the Indigo Lanterns suddenly appearing , to the telegraphed death of Genna . This could have been a good read. But its broken down into SHOCKING STORY TURN of each issue. And its kinda gotten old fast.

The Ugly

Amazing Spider-Man #604: The biggest internet hell being raised is Fred Van Lente's rape scene he wrote in #603. Well ... for awhile it was a scene where it was cut and dried that it was in fact a rape scene where Chameleon as Peter Parker , seduced his room mate and had sex with her.

2 weeks later , Marvel and Fred Van Lente claim the scene was just the 2 making out. Not having sex. Anyhow in #604 , we see that Peter has returned from his acid dip and wants to kick the shit outta Chameleon. Along the way things have changed pretty big. Harry Osborn is living it up at Mary-Jane or Peters. With some women there for a party. MJ is happy that Peter has finally moved on and found someone. And Michelle is wearing Peter's underwear and shirt. Making plans to change his attire and meet her parents. Yeah.... that has gotta be the makeout session of a lifetime there.

Peter ends up finding the Chameleon and stopping his scheme as the 2 have a brief battle. At the end we see the character run into Kraven the Hunter's ex-wife and her daughter. The 2 will plot revenge on Spider-Man soon.

Why is it ugly... well I'm sorry. The entire debacle wasn't helped by this issue and how Michelle comes across. I have no idea how this dumb story plot made it into the comic and why they kept it going...but it only makes Peter Parker look like a louse of the highest order and makes the female fans think the men writing this book have no way to identify with women. Michelle after 1 makeout session has already decided to run Peter's life....wow.

They should apologize for the dumbness of this . But they won't. And its another failure on Brand New Day.

end of review and comments are welcome....

[carabas]

Now some are asking... why revamp the origin so soon after Birthright ? Well... to hazard a guess I'll say its because Dan Didio wants the origin of the characters pushed out there under his run as EIC of DC and who better than the team of Geoff Johns and Gary Frank ?
I reckon because a) Birthright has been partly out of continuity ever since Infinite Crisis brought back Superboy and then soon after that Johns reinstated the original Legion Of Superheroes.
And b) Birthright was never very popular with the fans to begin with.

[Free-Man]

I really have to disagree with Cry For Justice being in the Good section. At the most, it's Bad.

[Kevinroc]

About Adventure. I wouldn't say Lex was less than pleased that Superboy has returned. He just looked really surprised. I think he's going to get a little emotional. It will be interesting to see where this goes since Geoff is leaving the title soon (and Didio basically said Superboy would also be leaving the book so that Levitz can concentrate on the Legion). Will Geoff be writing of Superboy in Teen Titans through a proxy (kinda like how Supergirl and the upcoming Kid Flash series will be handled)?

About Spidey. I'm just gonna come out and say it. Marvel needs to stop making this title seem like a bad 1970s sitcom. While the readers screamed "rape" too quickly regarding Michelle, that doesn't change this sinking feeling I have that the title reads like a bad sitcom. Spidey's world should be fun but this direction feels incredibly fake. Since Marvel insists on not retconning OMD, they should go in a more dramatic direction. You could get some really emotional stories if we see serious reprecussions for what has come before. This fake "bwahaha" thing isn't really working out.

[7thangel]

couldn't they have just stuffed genna into a fridge, it would have been more subtle.

[SUPERECWFAN1]

I reckon because a) Birthright has been partly out of continuity ever since Infinite Crisis brought back Superboy and then soon after that Johns reinstated the original Legion Of Superheroes.
And b) Birthright was never very popular with the fans to begin with.

Well to debate this...

a.) I don't think the Infinite Crisis had much to do with the decision to reboot Superman with a new origin again. I do think the decision to bring back the classic Legion of Superheroes and claim Clark was indeed Superboy seemed to be the decision to do it more.

b.) And this really isn't much of a retcon of Birthright as its a retcon of Man of Steel. The convolted explanation from DC was that Birthright slid into Man of Steel in some form.

I really have to disagree with Cry For Justice being in the Good section. At the most, it's Bad.

To me its not and I think many are down on Robinson for 2 reasons . To explain:

1.) His line where he he claimed Green Lantern had a 3 some in issue #2. And Green Arrows line "well played ole boy." :tongue:

2.) His Superman thus far has sucked and its got many reactions for that. Its why some lead off with it 1st. If he wasn't doing Superman I think a lot of the negative vibes would not be there.



About Adventure. I wouldn't say Lex was less than pleased that Superboy has returned. He just looked really surprised. I think he's going to get a little emotional. It will be interesting to see where this goes since Geoff is leaving the title soon (and Didio basically said Superboy would also be leaving the book so that Levitz can concentrate on the Legion). Will Geoff be writing of Superboy in Teen Titans through a proxy (kinda like how Supergirl and the upcoming Kid Flash series will be handled)?

Who knows...I may try Kid Flash and im already getting Flash anyhow. I really hope the Bart Allen book is a lot better than the last series he had.

About Spidey. I'm just gonna come out and say it. Marvel needs to stop making this title seem like a bad 1970s sitcom. While the readers screamed "rape" too quickly regarding Michelle, that doesn't change this sinking feeling I have that the title reads like a bad sitcom. Spidey's world should be fun but this direction feels incredibly fake. Since Marvel insists on not retconning OMD, they should go in a more dramatic direction. You could get some really emotional stories if we see serious reprecussions for what has come before. This fake "bwahaha" thing isn't really working out.

Its not , but its some dumb mandate that Brevoort laid out. He wants the whole youth part of Spider-Man played up. Also Quesada has basically since the get go has claimed he wants the book like he read it in the 1970's. Maybe its the fact that the people in charge are too un-willing to accept....its 2009 now. Not 1970 where you can have 10 chicks throwing themselves at Peter Parker and do wacky scenes from Threes Company.

couldn't they have just stuffed genna into a fridge, it would have been more subtle.

The big complaint was Genna as a character. Write her outta the characters life. Did we need to see her tortured and mass murdered for some reason to inspire Jason Rusch ? And did we need the horrible plot devise of Ronnie Raymond , who FUCKING EXPLODED 4-5 years ago and left no body , suddenly having one and doing this ?

Just dumb. I know if I ever attend a comic book panel or show and Johns is there. I have to ask... "Dude show me the issue where Ronnie Raymond got his body back. I'll like to see it."

[Kevinroc]

Who knows...I may try Kid Flash and im already getting Flash anyhow. I really hope the Bart Allen book is a lot better than the last series he had.

Bite your tongue. The Impulse series was great. The Mark Waid run was definitely the best part of the series but I was also fond of Dezago/ Van Sciver's run as well.

Impulse was never supposed to be a super hero book. It was a sitcom starring a super hero.

Its not , but its some dumb mandate that Brevoort laid out. He wants the whole youth part of Spider-Man played up. Also Quesada has basically since the get go has claimed he wants the book like he read it in the 1970's. Maybe its the fact that the people in charge are too un-willing to accept....its 2009 now. Not 1970 where you can have 10 chicks throwing themselves at Peter Parker and do wacky scenes from Threes Company.

Just look at the opening scene with MJ, Michelle and Norah. That's almost painful to read.

[OzBat!]

I think he's referring to Bart's disastrous run as The Flash.

As for Ronnie's body, the black rings have been shown as capable of rebuilding a body to a certain usable point (I'm guessing any further and it'd need life running through it). For the purposes of eliciting an emotional response, the black ring probably pulled together whatever random molecules were still available or built something totally new.

[SUPERECWFAN1]

Bite your tongue. The Impulse series was great. The Mark Waid run was definitely the best part of the series but I was also fond of Dezago/ Van Sciver's run as well.

Impulse was never supposed to be a super hero book. It was a sitcom starring a super hero.


I think he's referring to Bart's disastrous run as The Flash.

As Ozbat is saying I'm describing Bart's run as the Flash basically. That disastor. Not his Impulse book which was handled beautifully and something we'll never see from current DC again.

As for Ronnie's body, the black rings have been shown as capable of rebuilding a body to a certain usable point (I'm guessing any further and it'd need life running through it). For the purposes of eliciting an emotional response, the black ring probably pulled together whatever random molecules were still available or built something totally new.

Which could be true. But the scene in Blackest Night #1 has the ring go into the grave of Ronnie Raymond and somehow find him. Raymond should never have a body inside the grave to bring him back. I could understand if somehow the black ring had found Rusch and extracted a piece of Raymond and built him a body from that piece...sure. But what was explained was that somehow , defying logic ...there now is a body of Ronnie Raymond. :tongue: