Dueling Review: Siege: The Cabal #1

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As powerful as I, your Robot Overlord am, I have yet to comprehend your silly holidays and mail shipping schedules! The holiday you call Thanks-Giving was two weeks ago – why then, would you delay the comics arriving in stores last week?  It has thrown off my control of the Matthew and Stephen units and gave them a day of rest, when they should have been doing my bidding!

MY BIDDING!

I’ll let this incident slip this time meat bags, but you will rue the day you miss your Dueling Review deadline.

Stephen: You kind of sound like Victor Von Doom, you know?

SILENCE COW!  Now get back to the grind wheel and review Siege: The Cabal #1! Your Robot Overlord Commands It!

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HERO HISTORY: T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agent Dynamo

Or – “Not Bird, Nor Plane, Nor Even Frog…”

The 1960′s featured a proliferation of spy organizations, from Nick Fury’s SHIELD, to Derek Flint’s ZOWIE, even Napoleon Solo’s UNCLE. In fact, for a time it seemed that the only thing more plentiful in the mid-60′s than intelligence operatives were superheroes, so it was natural that, eventually, SOMEBODY would discover a way to combine the two. The T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents were created in response to a dangerous world, working as operatives of the United Nations to combat threats that your average super-friend wouldn’t have the reach or resources to combat, and foremost in their field operations was the irresistible force of today’s Hero History subject. Neither as invulnerable as that Kent kid, nor as smart as Tom Wayne’s boy, he nonetheless was the lynchpin of T.H.U.N.D.E.R. in all its incarnations, showing what the average man was capable of in extraordinary circumstances. This, then, is your Major Spoilers Hero History of Leonard Brown, agent of The Higher United Nations Defense Enforcement Reserves… T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agent DYNAMO!

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Review: Cinderella: From Fabletown With Love #2

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If you are a near immortal kept alive by how popular you are in the minds of those who grew up on fairy tales, at some point you’d become daring enough to want to try anything.  For Cinderella, becoming a spy seemed like a natural way to get out her aggressions over loves lost, and protect her interests at the same time.

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Review: You Have Killed Me

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While I’m not a die hard film noir fan, I’ve seen my fair share of flicks that feature the duped detective, devious damsels, and dire dilemmas that usually end with someone dying. Whether it is Sam Spade, Philip Marlowe, Dave Bannion, or Jeff Markam, the tales never have a happy ending where the hero rides off into the sunset with the girl.  Oni Press’ You Have Killed Me is no different, and for those who are unfamiliar with the genre, it’s a perfect primer for pulp plotting.

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Review: Dark Avengers Annual #1

 Or – “Whatever Happened To Noh-Varr?”

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One of the more vexing things about the Dark Avengers title is the fact that, because of the timing of the stories, Noh-Varr (aka Marvel Boy and the latest Kree warrior to call himself Captain Marvel) disappeared from Norman’s team MONTHS ago our time, but has apparently been missing for approximately 16 minutes in the stories.  This annual promises to tell us where the hero has been, but the question is, will the answers be meaningful, or will they just set up the next big crossover event?

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Review: Green Lantern #48

Or – “Didn’t Saint Walker Used To Work For Jabba The Hutt?”

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Earlier this week, I took a look at Blackest Night #5, in which the seven primary bearers of the emotional spectrum came together to try and stop Nekron’s evil Black Lantern Corps.  You’ll have to check out that review for more details, but here’s the story that explains how Atrocitus, Larfleeze, Sinestro, Hal Jordan, Saint Walker, Indigo-1 and Carol Ferris became the (barely) coherent collection of ring-bearers that I have dubbed The Rainbow Coalition…

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Review: World’s Finest #2

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I haven’t talked with anyone who is a big fan of Damian Wayne.  The side-kick-wanna-be grates on every nerve and it’s a wonder he’s able to get anything done with his rotten attitude.  There are probably more people who like the Guardian, Metropolis’ Science Police Field Commander. But he too tends to push certain buttons that turns some people off.  Toss them both in an issue of World’s Finest, and watch the fireworks fly.

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Dueling Review: Detective Comics #859

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Matthew Peterson of Earth. RISE!  Stephen Schleicher of Earth. RISE!  I, your Robot Overlord, command you to dance like little puppets, and join forces to review a single comic book for the week.  Those that fail to obey my orders will suffer never ending torment in Robot Hell.  You are hereby ordered to review Detective Comics #859.

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Review: The Goon #33

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The Goon by Eric Powell is one of those well kept comic book secrets that really needs a lot more attention than it has been given over the last couple of years.  Issue #33 is one of those issues that attempts to do something different by keeping the words to a minimum.

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Review: Powers (Vol. 3) #1

Or – “Third #$&*$ing Verse, Same As The #$&*$ing First…”

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When we last checked in with Homicide detective Christian Walker, he had lost partner Deena Pilgrim, but gained a girlfriend, a new partner, and a new costumed identity.  Now balancing his double-life as protector of the planet with the day-to-day grind of a beat cop (as well as acting as de facto parent to a teenager who is secretly the latest incarnation of legendary superhero Retro Girl) the nigh-immortal Walker pretty much has his hands full.

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Review: Buck Rogers #6

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Poor Buck Rogers.  No sooner did he save the Earth from an invading force of genetically altered animals, he’s now under house arrest and charged with crimes against humanity.  But while under the direct care of Dr. Huer, Buck is given the opportunity to see what the future holds.

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Review: Justice League Double-Feature!

Or – “Two Leagues, Slowly Moving Into Alignment…”

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From it’s inception, the latest incarnation of the Justice League has been a troubled one, in both creative and practical terms.  Initially designed to create an all-star JLA, it quickly became overbalanced, with 14 active members (one of whom, Geo-Force, was never seen to join the team and never seen to quit it, and still somehow ranks as an active member.)  Worse still, the team was built around the axis of the Big 3 just as Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman came to a point where they could barely speak to each other, much less anchor the world’s greatest superteam.  The fixes for this situation became more and more complicated, until the current JLA roster consisted of Vixen, Doctor Light, Firestorm, Plastic Man and Red Tornado, a very powerful League but one with little following.  There are currently two active JL titles trying to bring it back into good graces, but is either of them really up to the task?

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