Browsing: Review

Or – “He Died With His Boots On…” I’ve occasionally talked about how the future setting has allowed the creators of Legion of Super-Heroes to take risks that other books couldn’t, such as the death of Ferro Lad, or the weddings of several major characters.  Likewise, Jonah Hex has the benefit of living in our past, meaning that his entire LIFE is history.  Thus, the story of how Jonah died was told within a decade of his creation, and the spectre of that death has resonated through every Hex story since… I’ll say this, though:  It ain’t pretty.

Or – “Some Concepts Sell Themselves…” I worry that there’s a very real chance that I’ll be disappointed by this comic book, but I’m willing to take the shot based entirely on that title…  It’s a moral imperative!

Or – “Subtitle Beach Blanket Bingo!” Wait…  Didn’t Boba Fett die, like, 30 years ago?

Or – “If They’re All Geniuses, Aren’t They All, Thus, Equally Stupid?” There has been an interesting tendency in the Marvel Universe for power creep to turn many, in fact darn near all, of the founding members of the Universe into super-geniuses.  Bruce Banner, Peter Parker, Charles Xavier, Anthony Stark, Henry Pym, Reed Richards, Henry McCoy…  All are now superhuman minds, each with an inexplicable, untrained wild mental talent, be it in robotics, genetics or manipulation. So why is it that their first solution to anything is to punch the $#!+ out of it?

The alien invasion genre comes and goes, and for the last couple of years, invaders from beyond have taken theaters by storm. The Darkest Hour found its way to Blu-ray DVD and into the hands of Major Spoilers, which means we simply had to pop it into the player and take a peek.

Or – “How The Plutonian Got His Groove Back…” The whole planet has gone to Aitch-Ee-Double-Hockeysticks in a handcart, and the few remaining heroes still haven’t dealt with the threat of the returned Plutonian.  Is there any hope for the world?

Or – “I Apologize, But I Must Refuse To Call Her ‘Scar Jo’ On Principle…” I arrived at work last week to find that Deon, the owner of Gate Keep Comics and Hobbies, had purchased another longbox of comics on Saturday buying day.  But instead of the usual quarter-bin fare, he had somewhere procured a complete run of Amazing Spider-Man from #39 all the way through #250.  I’ve spent a lot of time grading and bagging these books, and among the surprises in the box was this issue, which may be of interest to fans of the upcoming Avengers movie. …

Or – “Iron Man Vs. Magneto?  Not As Cut & Dried As You Might Think…” The Avengers believe Hope is a danger to the world… The X-Men believe Hope is the only chance for their survival… Place yer bets and get’cher scorecard, ya can’t tell the players without a scorecard!

Or – “Man, I Don’t Have ROOM For All These Last Issues Of T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents!” Occasionally, I get all maudlin and pouty about the fact that some of my favorite comic series can’t keep a regular monthly title.  I know that it’s a combination of factors, but I still want a monthly Agents of Atlas series, a monthly Secret Six, even a successful revamp of Archie’s Crusaders.  (Fingers are still crossed on that one.)  Still, even the succes of The Defenders doesn’t entire make up for having to once again bid farewell to the agents of The Higher United Nations…

The Omega Effect is in its second part! Will the unlikely trio of Punisher, Daredevil, and Spider-Man be able to destroy the Omega Drive or will it fall into the hands of one the world’s evilest organizations?

Or – “The New Order Ariseth…” The first six issues of Justice League brought me to a rather unpleasant realization:  I really don’t LIKE these characters, certainly not all together in this fashion, and I still find myself disappointed at the anticlimactic end to the war with Darkseid.  Will the addition of Green Arrow be the thing that turns the tide?

Or – “Prepare Yourself, For There Are No More Non-AVX Marvel Books…” The first shot has been fired, and the war over the Phoenix Force has begun.  Given his history with the Avengers, one might think Captain America might be more sympathetic, but there is always more to the story…

Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? For decades The Shadow has known the answer, and as the character has passed through print, radio, movies, and to comic books a number of time, it’s time for Garth Ennis to take a shot at the one who can cloud men’s minds.

In the staff picks from last week, I claimed that Scarlet Spider is my favorite running comic. Reading 30-40 titles a month this is a bold statement to make. Does the fourth issue hold up to my expectations?