Author: Matthew Peterson

Or – “Making The World Safe By Standing Around And Talking For Roughly A Decade…” If you’re a regular Spoilerator, (And if so, thanks! If not, welcome aboard! There’s dip by the radiator, and remember our only rule: ‘Tom Grice is WRONG, Sir! WRONG!’) you won’t be surprised to hear that the new, awesome, world-changing status quo of the Avengers titles hasn’t really done anything to blow my dress up thus far. I mean, yes to the setup of the two conflicting team, yes to the use of less-spotlighted characters and old favorites (the return of the Wasp and the…

Or – “Nor Do The Wind, Or The Sun Or The Rain…” Last November, Stephen reviewed Shadowpact #6, and we were both a little disappointed. Each subsequent month, I’d look at Shadowpact and go “Well, Stephen covered it last November. This one’s his problem!” (The same rationale kept me from re-reading early issues of the new Flash and also saving many innocent brain cells.) Then came Shadowpact #12. Though always a quality book, even when disappointing, Shadowpact leapt back into the “awesome” stack, and I am hereby engaging the “My guy” clause of my contract with MajorSpoilers.com (Section III, paragraph…

Or – “Voted Most Likely To Make Me Feel Like Sisyphus…” Y’know, I’m surprised that, in an era where the two big Avengers titles cause so much consternation, more people aren’t interested in reading this series. Is it because it’s not the current Avengers? The lack of Captain America, or Iron Man, or Thor? Is it the price? What? This series has been 8 issues of excellent, from script to art to coloring, and not only have I not seen anybody but Tom Grice and I pick it up at the store (Gatekeeper Hobbies, Huntoon & Gage, Topeka! Ask ’em…

Or – “Does Barry Manilow Know That You Raid His Wardrobe?” The Marvel Universe. A place of myth and legend (so long as you’re a geek like us.) It’s greatest strength is the myriad of characters, interacting, changing (within reason), growing (as long as it doesn’t affect revenue) and bouncing off one another. Every Marvel character has a following, and if you don’t believe me, google and see how many people are happy to see Armadillo turn his act around. Unfortunately, the greatest weakness of the Marvel Universe is the same thing: It’s myriad of characters blah blah blah fishcakes.…

Or – “Torn Between ‘It’s Better Than Before’ And ‘When Does Gail Start?” I’m not sure what bothers me more about Wonder Woman: The fact that original writer Allan Heinberg’s schedule was such that it took nearly a year to publish four issues, or that, since DC’s next big crossover event (Didn’t we just FINISH one of those?) ties into Wonder Woman and her backstory, we’re now seeing WW’s book more often than I fill my gastank. I gotta tell you, as much as I wanted to see this revamp succeed, I’m about Wonder Woman’d out. The disappointment connected to…

Or – “For What Seemed Like A Shameless Marketing Ploy, It’s Quite Good…” I admit it:  I initially avoided “Rush City” when it appeared in Previews, assuming that it was another of those “car books” (like ‘The Hire’ from Dark Horse, and ‘The Ride’ from Image) and, indeed, it is what the marketing gurus call ‘Branded Content’ as the main characters wheels based on the Pontiac Solstice roadster.  But with the first issue, the book impressed me, crafted a well-done story with elements of the spy genre, the omnipresent superhero story, and a well-written lead character with an emotional core story.  This…

Or – “Maybe The FOURTH Time Will Be The Charm?” It may surprise regular Spoiler-a-holics that I, the man who always schmucks up discussions with “I have a complete run of Captain Schmaggeggi, and blah dee blah” that I do NOT have all of Nova’s various series, even though Nova is “one of my guys.” Don’t get me wrong, I have the original 25 issue series (including the ones drawn by Carmine Infantino which are… NOT C.I.’s best work), I have the Fantastic Four crossovers, and the issue of What If. I have most of the second series, but faded…

Or – “Fruity IS One Way To Describe It.  Bananas Will Also Suffice…” Of all the comic books I’ve owned, this one proved among the most difficult to track down.  (I know, you’re probably amazed that I went looking for the thing at all, but I have a penchant for collecting the weird and obscure heroes of small publishers.)  First, it’s easy to get a complete run of a one-issue series, and second, part of the fun of buying old comics is the thrill of the hunt, looking through third-hand bookstores and creepy shops in off-kilter neighborhoods to find that…

Or – “Requiem For An Orka…” Okay, I have to admit it: I’m irritated at Brad Meltzer. Stay with me here, it’ll all make sense eventually. In Justice League of America #8, it is revealed that Superman ranked Karate Kid as a 15th level fighter, and Batman as a level 12, yet Batman subsequently defeated KK in combat with a kick in the nards and a snide remark about enjoying proving Superman wrong. Digressing from my digression, let me mention that in the wrestling industry, there’s a concept called “putting over” an opponent: to wit, you make sure that your…

Or – “We Really Do Have A Limited Understanding Of Canadia And It’s Bacon.” Alpha Flight is one of those concepts that never really gelled for anyone but the original creator. John Byrne had a feel for the characters that no one else has ever really managed to recreate, and the fact that this was a Canadian team seemed to make the writers try and treat them differently than a “normal” superhero group. From the revelation that Northstar and Aurora were actually descended from fairies (irony, indeed), to the fake resurrection of Guardian to the real resurrection of Guardian to…

Or – “They’re Coming To Get Your Disposable Income, Bruce…  They’re Cooomiiiinggg!” See, that was supposed to sound like Johnny from “Night Of The Living Dead…”  My old pal Bruce, you see, has the same relationship with comics that Michael Corleone has with ‘The Family’:  every time he thinks he’s out, they PULL HIM BACK IN.  The return of Madman is one that is met with much accolades from a few thousand die-hards and a collective “Buh?” from those too young to remember the salad days, or too mainstream to have picked up a book without an ‘X’ or a bad…

Or – “Have You Ever Felt Like You’re Missing The Point?” I’ve been working hard to keep up with the flow of comics, and thought I had made some headway until this Wednesday. Struck about the head and shoulders with nearly a dozen books that I wanted to recap (including Mighty Avengers #2, Justice League of America #8, the Nightwing Annual and more), I realized that I was needlessly restricting myself to one book a day. With my pull list being the behemoth that it is, maybe a little extra effort is what we need to get things manageable. In…

Or – “The Not-Exactly-Calm Before The Long-Overdue-Storm…” Hey, it’s a Dan Slott Double-Shot! Can you dig it? No? Alrighty, then, moving on… Of all the people who sided with Tony Stark during Civil War, none surprised me more (not even Mister Fantastic or Tigra) than She-Hulk. Certainly, Jennifer Walters is a lawyer, and perhaps you could make the case that her understanding of the legal realities of the Registration act chose for her, but her whole-hearted acceptance of Tony’s actions, her acceptance of her FORCIBLE DRAFTING into SHIELD to fight her cousins foes (a situation ALSO orchestrated by Stark) make…

Or – “It Took Seven Months To Give Us The First Issue?” I’ll say this for the new League, they’re a diverse lot. While still overwhelmingly Caucasian (even if you discount the pink skin of the non-human John Smith and Clark Kent), they’ve given two legacy heroes a chance to step up, righted one of the greatest wrongs of the Detroit-era League by re-inducting Vixen (and putting her back in her old costume), revitalized an old favorite in Red Tornado, finally given Black Lightning a spot at the big table, and have a female chairman, something that I think has…