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View Full Version : The Good , the Bad and the Ugly [10-26-11]



SUPERECWFAN1
10-26-2011, 07:31 PM
#78

Its been about a month and due to saving for some back issues at a small comic show in Virginia , I took a break from new comics. Well I'm roaring back and will have updates for the next 2-3 weeks steady. Maybe one every 3-4 days basically. So here goes people...ya know how this works by now.

This months books dips more into the New DCU , it also has some new Marvel launched book by Greg Rucka as well. So lets see how this month rolled....


SPOILERS....

SPOILERS AHEAD...LAST CHANCE...

Good

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Fear Itself #6 (of 7) : This comic caused quite a bit of controversy due to early released panels that some posters pointed to how Luke Cage wasn't good enough to go to Asgard. It was hinted it could have been a race thing. But well...this is the case of some not actually waiting to see what was written and how it played out.

The issue basically has Thor near death and being carried by Cap , Cage and others to the gate to get him back to Asgard. The city is in ruins and Steve knows if the entire Avengers team leaves , it will further drive people into a panic. That if they see the Avengers leaving , people will riot in fear. Cage basically tells Captain America he and others will stay behind. Luke jokes he never liked Asgard anyhow and as a true hero he stays with others to try and show the Avengers are still there.

Once on Asgard , Rodgers is pissed at Odin's lack of caring for the planet and how he's preparing his troops to raze Earth. Steve gets in his face and tells him he's gonna need more damn soldiers to do the job. Odin is shocked at this mere mortal standing in his face. After throwing them back to Earth , he cares for his son.

Odin uses what magics he can to heal Thor. But tries again to make him stay and not give his life. Asking "Are you man...or god ?" Thor tells him he is a man and his father arms him for what could be his final battle. He then gives him the sword to kill the Serpent...his brother.

On Earth Spider-Man is trying to find Aunt May. He finally finds her helping some people . She seems to know Peter is Spider-Man it seems and tells him she is ok but he has a job to do. Elsewhere the Serpent is ready to destroy the Earth for his child.

On Asgard , Tony Stark has built some special weapons for the Avengers to wear and even the odds now. Thor and Stark are tossed with the weapons to Earth by Odin.

At the end in the small town the floating city of Asgard is near , Captain America basically tells Hawkeye to prepare to evacuate the planet if need be. But for now he's gonna go stand with the people . Grabbing a gun , Steve tells the townspeople "If you leave to be with your loved ones , no one will look down on you. If you go leave the guns for us here..." as he gets ready to defend the World Tree from the Serpent !

This was a great part and have Steve Rodgers basically showing that he will go to war still. Forming a small front line milita group to protect the World Tree there. I did love how he gets in Odin's face and doesn't care because he's Captain "fucking" America. Also the issue shows that , maybe its best to actually wait for the written text and full issue before seeing a part of it and going off over it.


Aquaman #1: Aquaman was the most eagerly awaited book of the new DC 52 relaunches. The book is by a fan favorite writer and a fan favorite artist as well. Plus its Aquaman and he's spinning out of Brightest Day and Flashpoint .

The book opens as some bad guys have robbed a bank and seem to be getting away. Aquaman suddenly appears and the hoods think its a joke more or less so they gun it at him. Arthur takes his trident and flips the van over as the cops are stunned. Then the one cop jokes he doesn't want people to know Aquaman helped do their job. This after asking if he needs a cup of water.

Along the way Aquaman stops at a seaside diner to eat and people stare stunned. He sits as an internet blogger asks him why he's there. Its revealed that as a small kid , Arthur's human father would take him there to eat. He again gets insulted by someone who asks how it feels to be a lame hero like Aquaman.

Elsewhere a new threat from the deep is seen. This threat ends up coming above and attacks a ship.

At the end we see that Arthur tells Mera he left the topside of the world when he was 12 . That once he discovered who he was he left. So the 2 decide to stay above and live there for now.

Its a good fun set up issue. Aquaman has some new powers like he's able to fly now it seems , is bulletproof and super strong. But the issue seems to be telling people , Aquaman is no longer gonna be a joke. His time is coming and that label is gonna end very soon .


Punisher #2 : Holy crap...a mainstream Marvel Punisher book is actually ...good ? Well yes folks..miracles do happen. After years of trying to make a mainstream Marvel Punisher series work. And with dumb storylines (Frankencastle...cough) ; Marvel seems to have found what has worked. Hire Greg Rucka and let him write an urban street Punisher series.

The series basically continues where we left off. With the Punisher on the hunt for those who killed an entire wedding party nearly. He is using a man named Liam , who he is basically make run to his ex-crime pals to find a place to hide. Frank is busy working thru each location Liam goes to.

We see a new female crime boss called "Dove" who is hiring the Vulture to do a hit. That every second that man draws breath he is dangerous.

Meanwhile we see that Bolt and Clemens are working the wedding party case and now are behind the Punisher. At one crime scene they see tactics he used to kill . Norah Winters shows up and jokes she would rather be an investigative reporter than a TV Anchor. After some small talk Clemens tells her to cut her hair short and Ben Urich will put her back on the beat.

Castle by this point follows Liam to a club and after the guy is kicked out and now allowed to lie low , Frank storms in. After killing some assholes he sees the poor girls were drugged and forced into sex. A woman claims she couldn't help drugging the girls. Frank shoots her in the back as she runs.

By this point Liam has ran to Dove who tells him he fucked up. That he had to realize killing 30 people would draw Castle's attention. So she kills him as Frank waits to kill her. Instead she springs the trap as we see the Vulture ready to spring down on him.

Its a very good issue and Rucka seems to know exactly how to write the Punisher. Good work on this title and its the 1st mainstream Marvel Punisher book I have bought since....well the mid 90's.


Justice League Dark #1: Its late and Madame Xanadu can see the future. She knows something big is coming . It seems to at 1st connect to a young scared girl named June Moone who is running. Once inside a diner after seeing a monster , Moone discovers many copies of her are dying on the interstate !

Elsewhere Shade , the Changing Man is with his girlfriend. The unbalanced Shade has created Kathy , a woman he loves. Due to his powers he creates her due to being so lonely. He feels the coat is summoning him somewhere and it brings him to Xanadu.

Other instances of nature and magic gone wrong happen. We see that the JLA has learned the Enchantress is behind this mess as Superman , Wonder Woman and Cyborg arrive to handle it. Batman and Zatanna discuss it once the league walks into a mess and get beaten easily by the insane Enchantress .

Zatanna realizes she needs to handle this and tells Batman he's too important to risk going . So she pretty much uses a spell to bind the metal to him . Elsewhere we see John Constantine realize something is wrong as he was conning someone and is teleported away. At Boston Brand's girlfriend's place , June Moone arrives looking for Deadman .

And finally back at Xanadu she urges the Shade to help. But he doesn't know what help she wants or what she sees. He only goes where his meta coat wants him to go. She sees a horrific vision of dead bodies and those connected to the JLA Dark there.

I have to admit , its a nice opening issue and sets the players up in JLA Dark nicely. I'm intriqued to watch this team come together and handle this threat. I'm liking the insane lonely Shade of all people. Nice good 1st issue Peter Milligan.

Captain America #3: In this new arc of Captain America , Steve Rodgers is facing a new threat called Bravo. A man who once had feelings for Peggy Carter and was an operative for the Allies for years. But once he walked into Jimmy Jupiter's dream world he was stranded for over 60 years. Jupiter has been in a coma since the 1940's.

When Sharon awakes the Ameridrioid attacks Steve as the 2 fight outside. Rodgers knows that inside the cyborg is the brain of a Nazi scientist. But this time the Ameridriod has lost it and fights crazy against him. Elsewhere during the battle we see that Sharon Carter gets a visit from Baron Zemo as they fight.

Sharon gets tossed out the window by Zemo , after Steve surprises himself that the cyborg has went down. He manages to catch Sharon and slams hard into a car to handle the blow.

end of part 1....2nd part coming...

SUPERECWFAN1
10-26-2011, 07:40 PM
Meanwhile Bravo and the new Hydra Queen are plotting revenge and used Zemo and the Ameridroid for this reason. The Queen seems to be someone from the dream world that Bravo perhaps created while stuck there in the nowhere world.

Back with Fury the 2 examine the cyborg which they believe is a malfunction perhaps. Instead we see that this is part of the plan as the cyborg comes back on. As we see the Hydra Queen and Bravo in a van with Jupiter , who use his brainwaves to open a portal. Steve is pushed thru it by the Ameridroid and we see them on the other side.

Bravo shoots and kills the Nazi scientist (who returned to human form there) as Cap throws his shield. Bravo has mastered this world and catches it. Punching Steve...as we know the big battle is ahead.

Its a very good fun arc. I really wonder if Jimmy Jupiter will awake perhaps. And become a young boy again. Who knows. But this continues the masterful run by Ed Brubaker on Cap.


Hellblazer #283 : "The Devil's Trench Coat" pt.1 begins here. Issues back an angry Gemma Constantine took her uncle's beloved trench coat and sold it online. Many tried bidding for this coat that John Constantine wore. And finally one man named Muzzie Musgrove won it on auction site.

Meanwhile Gemma herself has been followed and has Tasmin , a witch she used to get revenge on her uncle , wanting her to take part in a murder. Tasmin soon haunts Gemma . Of course the niece of John Constantine is still angry at him and too proud to ask for her uncle's help against this witch.

Constantine has his own problems. He and Epiphany wake up on the River Thames one night in bed. The next the walls pour blood. After a passionate night of sex helps John think , he realizes its his coat. The one Gemma stole is what is doing this. That over years of black magic , battles with demons and all...its all rubbed off on it.

The coat itself seems alive as Musgrove is influenced by it. Picking up a girl thats so out of his league , taking her home and having hot sex with her. Elsewhere we see that Constantine and Epiphany are enjoying a shower as her dad walks in demanding help with his problems. John tells him now isn't a great time .

At the end the woman Musgrove hooked up with pushes him to get rid of the trench coat. That it smells bad. No clue that the coat has had an effect outside Musgrove and its caused a dry cleaner to burn himself with his shop as well as other horrible things. Musgrove is hit by a motorcycle dead , as the trench coat claims its looking for another wearer. Someone more worthy !

I really liked this issue and its a pretty cool idea for a story. John Constantine has wore that trench coat for years in his classic stories. So as Milligan writes , it would get some of the rub off of dark things I'm sure. Not having a Constantine to wear it , who is powerful enough to handle it as a black magician to keep it in check is a nice thing to read.


Superman #1 : Its the whole new era of Superman and DC has brought back George Perez to do it. The issue opens as the new Morgan Edge has bought the Daily Planet. With his TV Network and now DP , Edge has created a media empire. We see that the new Lois Lane now is basically the news director of it all. Jimmy Olsen still snaps pics and is joined by a Asian girl named Miko Moirre .

The new Perry White looks a lot different than he used to. As we see that Edge will keep him as Daily Planet editor in this new Global empire he has built. We see that Clark however isn't there and won't be. As he has claimed he hates what Edge does with his Global company and how he ran his newspapers and tabloids. Lois meanwhile thinks Edge has changed things and that if Clark takes the GBS gig , the 2 can do a lot of good.

As Superman he watches the old Daily Planet ball fall . He flies off unhappy and continues to work as Superman. Stopping armed thugs from taking bombs. In the sky he holds the armed van and orders the armed suspects to drop their weapons. Instead some creature made of fire explodes the van he was holding.

Lois Lane goes after the story and has the camera man filming it for GBS as well as Jimmy and Miko snapping pics below. Superman realizes he is out matched and after someone nearly dies , Lois has the camera man pull back in the helicopter. Edge gets mad over this but as Lois tells him , she won't risk peoples lives for this. She will risk hers , but not them.

Superman defeats the creature (we get a hint to pick up Stormwatch 1 for more on a creature that summoned it) after awhile. After it he shows up to apologize to Lois over his actions . She is busy with her boyfriend as he listens and leaves.

Its a unique 1st issue. If anyone benefited from this post Flashpoint DCU , its Lois Lane and Perry White. For Lois she has a great new job as the news director over it all. Perry looks like he could kick ass. Also they changed Morgan Edge as well. In fact Edge has the most radical change and it seems...to fit his name actually.


PunisherMax #17: In the last arc , Frank Castle broke out of jail. While he was gone the Kingpin became the more feared man of the streets. Something Castle takes issue with. So he kills a drug dealer and takes his gun. Fisk as the Kingpin is scared shitless of Castle. Realizing that the man is still coming at him.

So he offers to up the $2 million dollar bounty he has on him. But the Hand arrive and one of the people there offer Wilson Fisk someone who can help keep him safe. Her name is Electra and after she kills a bunch of Fisk's security men without dropping blood on the ground , she gets the job . Of course the Hand claims they won't kill Castle.

In his explanation the man claims the Hand treasures someone like Frank Castle. He is one of a kind. And they can not kill someone such as he. Because he is that special and no one will be like him. But they will keep Castle from killing the Kingpin.

Elsewhere we see that the Hand is setting up Fisk. The same man at a fancy restaurant meets with Vanessa. The estranged wife of Wilson Fisk. She wants to kill the Kingpin and the Hand are working with her to do it. But using the fear of Castle in their plans. Castle meanwhile is seen sleeping on the hard ground of an empty building.

Punisher Max is pretty damn awesome and continues to be. I love the introduction of Electra now. I can't wait to see how they resolve this storyline.

Walking Dead #89: In the last arc , Carl was shot as a stray bullet took out one of his eyes. Carl emerged from the coma with memory issues and has showed little grief in the fact he lost his mom. Rick meanwhile to get a handle on this , goes off with others to salvage goods in small towns. Where he breaks down.

While gone Nicholas (a resident of the Community) tries to get Spencer and Oliva to help him take down Rick and his group. He details that more of them are dying since Rick arrived. Also what is the point to dig trenches and traps to stop the walkers. What if someone refuses to do it.

At the store that Rick broke down crying in Andrea finds him. She basically tells Rick that he is very strong and so is Carl. That he's only acting to not care , due to his dad being such a strong man. And she tells Rick that is what she loves about him...that he is a good man. They all agree its getting late and beyond a few goods and some clothes , its time to go back.

Back at the community , Nicholas has his plan spoiled by Glenn who walked up on it. They scuffle after Glenn is scared that Nicholas is gonna kill Rick and others , so he pulls his gun. After kicking him and getting away he runs to tell Maggie to stay in a room with Sophia and not come out as he gets his gun.

Outside Nicholas chases and wants Glenn. So he comes out with his gun. Rick arrives and questions what the hell is going on as he has his gun on him. Nicholas claims he is taking back the community from him , which has Michonne , Abraham and others stand ready to take down Nicholas .

Its a good issue and I can't wait to read #90 to see how it ends. The big lead up to 100 has me pumped. So I can't wait to see what happens.

The Bad

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Captain Atom #1 : The DC relaunch of Captain Atom has some good things and some bad things involved. So here goes. The story begins as Atom is facing some rogue in a huge robot. As the battle continues , Atom realizes his powers are going haywire as he dissolves the entire metal around the guy , leaving him naked on the ground. He also realizes some of his hand dissipated when this happened.

Back at Continuum in Kansas , Atom arrives at the lab. Its there he discusses his problems with Megala . Who himself is kind of an asshole , but tells Atom his powers are likely gonna kill him. That as he uses his powers , his atoms are constantly splitting and if he ever loses thought his brain could dissipate ...making him not be there.

Meanwhile in San Francisco , in an alley a rat suddenly morphs into a killer creature and kills some bums when threatened.

Atom gets the call that a weird volcano has formed in New York as he can't worry about his powers at the moment. So he races to that to stop it. He saves some people but once inside the volcano his powers act weird and seems to make him get hurt.

The issue ends like that. Now nothing against this...but beyond some cool examples of his powers and explanation here...we learn nothing about the new DCU Captain Atom. In fact his name is never...ever mentioned. I have no clue if he still has the same name or not. Thats not a good idea for 1st appearance of the new Atom. Also we see him work for the Continuum but beyond meeting Megala and his assistant , no explanation on them either.

Its not a complete miss though. But its one you wonder how quick DC threw this out.

SUPERECWFAN1
10-26-2011, 07:41 PM
The Ugly

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War of the Green Lanterns #1 & #2 : A complete miss is this series. Which basically has a dumb premise spinning out of Green Lantern #67 , before the relaunch #1 weeks later. This is basically to tie up the mess Johns himself made and give a reason on why the Guardians continue to be massive blue dickheads.

Basically the guardians are scared that a mere human killed Krona . In fact the entire debacle has the Guardians care more for Krona than anything. Jordan was stripped of his ring and sent to Earth which pisses off nearly everyone. Kilowog himself wants to give his ring up due to this. Of course Salaak runs a diagnostic of everyone's mental health , they are suffering post dramatic stress issues. Even himself.

The Guardians however don't do this on themselves. Instead they focus on trying to figure out why the green ring went to Sinestro. They leave the Corps to try and handle this. Meanwhile many are angry at John Stewart who killed Mogo above OA. The planet was under the influence of Krona and was issuing GL rings like crazy. After Kyle discusses it and helps John , he gets blown off by him .

Meanwhile we see the issues the Corps has with Sinestro and how many are wanting to execute him . Kyle manages to stop his girlfriend and others from doing that. Which we see that the Guardians are trying to remove the ring with no luck. They get after the Corps and lay out no one will be punished...this time. But they tell Rayner he will be over Earth and report there.

Before he departs he helps send whats left of Mogo into the sun as a burial.

In all the issue is a mess as is the Guardians. They have Bedard try and clean up the issues of having Hal suddenly get no reward as usual by the blue dicks. Instead we get a worse reasoning and see that they are pretty much horrible leaders. And that they need replaced due to what we read. The twisted respect for Krona is silly , given what hell he unleashed on the universe. So you walk away thinking...they punished Hal Jordan for saving them , yet are ready to revere Krona with a place for burial there. (Until Ganthlet gave the body to the Red Lanterns as payback)


And thats it for this week guys. Happy reading and I'll see ya in a few days for #79.

snarkbunny
10-26-2011, 08:15 PM
I agree on JLDark and Captain Atom, which are the only two of your review list I read. Looking forward to your take on JLDark 2.

SUPERECWFAN1
10-26-2011, 08:50 PM
I agree on JLDark and Captain Atom, which are the only two of your review list I read. Looking forward to your take on JLDark 2.

I likely will pick that up this weekend. I have some I need to get and will likely get them this weekend.