Author: Matthew Peterson

Or – “The Only People Who’ll REALLY Stay Dead Are Thomas & Martha Wayne…” It’s an exciting world right now in comics… For the first time in years, it seems like change is occuring organically, as part and parcel of real stories, with real character development, rather than as a sales ploy. Even though I don’t necessarily appreciate everything Marvel is DOING with Civil War, ya gotta give them credit for what they’re trying to do: Something Different. That’s the raison d’etre for this issue, not just as a Civil War tie-in, but as a statement that finally puts to…

Or – “Too Much Of A Good Thing?” Sarge Steel. Detective Chimp. Mister Terrific. Fire. Mademoiselle Marie. Plus two pages of strippers, and huge movie-blockbuster-style firefight and a surprising addition to the regular cast. This book is packed with geekout moments, intrigue, even a way cool cover that pops off the racks and tells you to shaddup and buy it. With all that going for it, there’s really no reason why I haven’t been able to sit down, concentrate, and review this book. So why haven’t I done it before now?

Or – “Does Supergirl Have To Choke A B!+c#?” Issue 25 didn’t used to be a milestone, back in the day. When I was a kid, it seemed like a comic book either went under before it hit double digits, or it ran forever. Granted, I was twelve, and that pretty much sums up the world-view of MOST 12 year olds, but whadayagonnado? In any case, at some point (’bout half an hour after somebody realized comics were suddenly collectible), every chance they had for a milestone issue, they took. Issue 1. Issue fifty. Any Spider-Man book where the number…

Or – “Sometimes Inspirado Strikes When It Strikes…” So, I’ve been emotionally devastated today. First, I watched the two-part finale of season two of Doctor Who. On top of the underlying theme of loss of humanity, lost family, and missed opportunites, I had to endure the most painful breakup I’ve ever seen. It saddens me to the very core to see Rose Tyler completely break down, and worst of all, The Doctor never even got to say… what he should have said. Top that off with a round of American Idol Karaoke Revolution in which Simon Cowell called me awful,…

Or – “You Wish You Had Madrox’s Problems…” As I look at my hold list these days, I find a bit of bias towards the product being put out by DC Comics over that by Marvel. I have my Marvel mainstays, but the Civil War crossovers are making most of the product that comes out of Da House of Ideas incredibly complicated and difficult to keep up with. But, as with my monthly Nightwing review (another one comin’ soon!), I realize that my tastes aren’t everyone’s tastes, and thus, I’m gonna dip a toe in the Sargasso Sea that is…

Or – “Cancellation Notice? What Cancellation Notice?” So, did you have a happy New Year? Mine was just a big bag of crazy, thanks for asking. Ten pounds of psycho in a four and a half pound bag, but boy did I eat well! And while I don’t make resolutions, per se, (because I don’t need anything to make me feel like I’m already a failure in a brand new year) I’m going to try and do three or four things differently in 2007, including give you more Spoilers bang for your mostly imaginary buck. Speaking of fresh starts, I’m…

Or – “They Were Doing SO Well…” There’s an interesting thing about the way comic books are written… a time paradox that allows a character who was 8 years old in 1941 to turn 20 in 1984, then to spend another 20 years at college age before finally having the standard-issue 22-year-old’s “Who Am I And Why Am I Here?” identity crisis at the chronological age of 73. The only other occupation that has as slow a growth curve as DC superhero is probably “vampire,” and both by coincidence come with roughly the same wardrobe. Nightwing’s back with another issue…

Or – “This Is The Story Of Doctor Jekyll & Mister Pym…” What’s that, you say? TWO issues? Can we BE so lucky? Is it a Christmas miracle? Well, yeah, for some values of miracle, anyway. Specifically, the miracle that is Marvel’s bi-weekly schedule, combined with my own foolishness in not checking said schedule, combined with the natural delays of the holiday season, all conspiring to give us a hearty double dose of classic Avengers in a white wine sauce with a fried egg on top and spam. Never let it be said that the Major Spoilers reviewing staff don’t…

Or – “It’s Ron Mysterio All Over Again…” Ahh, the annual! Used to be, every summer, we’d be inundated with these things, most of which were either out of continuity or written by people so divorced from the core book that they might as well have been writing different characters. Why, back in the day, you could count on a big issue, with one story that kinda mattered but wasn’t very good, filled out with reprints you neither wanted nor cared about, as well as pinups probably drawn in half an hour to fill the page count. Meeeeemorieeeeees… Then came…

Or – “What Exactly IS A Human Robot, Anyway?” It’s a fine time to be a comics fan. Characters as wildly diverse as Detective Chimp, Spider-Woman, Machine Man, Nightmaster, and Animal Man are all back in the spotlight, and it seems like nobody’s favorite obscure character is going to stay obscure for long. Marvel and DC alike are delighting in revamping, reviving, and revitalizing guys that most people figured were long gone. Most impressively, they’re doing it in a way that manages to breathe new life without negating that which has gone before. Most of the cast of this comic…

Or – “You’ll Never Have This Much Fun With A Liefeld Character Again…” One of the great things about the Marvel Universe is that everybody has a story. Even someone who’s appeared as seldom as the Texas Twister or Stingray has backstory, family, friends and continuity. The cast of this book, f’rinstance, has ties to The X-Men, X-Force, The Avengers, The Defenders, Spider-Man, the awesome but completely forgotten “Lost Generation” miniseries, and, if this issue is to be taken literally, The frickin’ Micronauts. Last issue, the nextwave five were faced with no fewer than three different evil superteams bent on…

Or – “20 Years In Any Other Medium Might Actually CHANGE Things.” When I was young, a Limited Series was a 4-issue affair. Jack of Hearts, Vision and The Scarlet Witch, Hercules, even the whole frickin’ World of Krypton fit into that 4-issue format without feeling cramped. Not so in the age of Decompression… Naaah, these days, a limited series is 6, or 8, or 12 issues, if not 52 of ’em. Stories take longer now, though roughly the same amount of action ends up taking place. Mostly that’s a good thing, in that conversations and character bits that would…

Or – “Go-Kart Mozart Was Checkin’ Out The Weather Chart Seein’ If It’s Safe Outside…” I tried recently to explain to one of my customers (Gatekeeper Hobbies, Topeka, Kansas. Come buy stuff!) why I enjoy Judd Winick’s work on The Outsiders. As I did, I found myself in that weird position where I had to explain away my PROBLEMS with the current status of the book before I could tell him what was good about it. I’m sure the Germans have a word for the need to justify your enjoyment of something (maybe it’s Hurneyvurneyfarfarghnughen?), but it’s a weird position…

Or – “All The Justice You Love, Now With 47% More Alex Ross!” I find that I annoy people in the comics world when I state some of my beliefs and preferences. I don’t care for Wolverine. I think Batman is as valid as a smiling-squared-jawed-father-figure driving a bubble-topped land yacht as he is a grim avenger of the night. I don’t have any idea what is so compelling about the gang-wars and separatist agendas of the X-Men titles. And I just have no use for Alex Ross any more. Oh, sure, there was a day when I fell slack-jawed…