Browsing: Review

Or – “A Study In Contrasts…” Daniel Rand. Introverted son of wealth. Orson Randall. Self-destructive drug-addicted wanderer. Both bearers of the burns of Shou-Lao, channelers of the power of the Iron Fist, both men of great drive and integrity, both heroes in wildly divergent ways. Both are men out of place, both are incredibly devoted to their friends, and neither would believe how similar they are. Now, after Orson’s death, Danny has to track down the loose ends of his predecessors life, only to find that the legacy of the Immortal Iron Fist and the Rand family fortune may be…

Or – “Quality Comics Group, Represent!” DC’s history in the comic book industry is a long and storied one, but the most interesting facet of their current catalog of characters is the sheer number of them that USED to belong to competing publishing firms. The Ted Kord Blue Beetle, Captain Atom, Nightshade, The Question, Judomaster, Peacemaker and other ancillary characters (including Sarge Steel) came from the late, lamented Charlton Comics. Captain and Mary Marvel and Doctor Sivana (along with their assorted hangers-on) originated with Fawcett Comics until DC forced them out of business, and The Freedom Fighters (as well as…

Or – “Wanna See My New Favorite Comic Book?” One of the marks of a really good comic book in today’s ‘Event-Driven’ industry (at least for me) is whether you’re tripped up by the question of “Where does this take place?” World War Hulk is a good example… The stories in Incredible Hulk are taking place between panels of the WWH limited series, but both stories are so well-crafted that I don’t worry about it. This book was written BEFORE the events of Civil War, obviously, but has been adjusted to take place AFTER the Stark Era, creating the possibility…

Another month and a new entry for our new series “Trades You Should Own”. I’m going to continue the theme of teenagers who find out their parents are evil with The Runaways, from Marvel Comics. It’s not quite Invincible, but is one of those trades that I highly recommend.

Or – “Playing Catch-Up Is Actually Kind Of Fun…” Peter Quill. Astronaut. Star-Lord. Fallen hero. In the wake of the Annihilation, the powers of the universe have been completely revamped and reconfigured, but there are still situations that cry out for the intervention of the master of the spaceways… The situation on Hala (home of the Kree) is beyond desperate, and the powers that be have drafted Pete and a few of Marvel’s other back-catalog characters into a suicide mission, a mission behind enemy lines where nobody expects any of them to survive. Whaddaya bet that they’re right?

Or – “It’s Time For Some Payback…” Say what you will about the villains of the DC Universe, the Society really is an idea that they should have thought of earlier. After all, the classic JLA started seven strong (at least three of whom are as powerful as a dozen Shadow-Thieves) and the satellite-era team touched on a dozen members, yet most of the Injustice Leagues we’ve seen are either exact counterparts of the Leaguers or a six-to-eight person conglomeration of random guys. Now, faced with a JLA of extreme power, how do the villains of the Society respond? With…

Or – “Meanwhile, Back On Lallor…” The Legion has been through a lot of strange periods in their history… The times when they kept getting turned into toddlers. The Mike Grell “Everybody’s Naked” issues. Element Lad’s Jheri curl. The Nine-Panel Grid. There was the whiplash from manga-inspired “Archie Legion” to dark and gritty “Legion Lost,” even the point during the last series where it seemed like we were once again telling stories about the original pre-Crisis LSH, continuity be damned. Right now, interest in the Legion seems to be peaking again, but we’re in another transition period, between the highly…

Or – “It’s Always Darkest Before It Gets Pitch Black…” Anymore it seems like late books are pretty much an accepted fact of the comics industry, both to the publishers and to the readers.  When Superman and Wonder Woman have story arcs that just STOP, finishing up months later while the title goes off on a new arc, or when it takes a year to get an issue of All-Star $&@%&! Batman, I wonder if we’re really any better off than the days when ‘Dreaded Deadline Doom’ would stick a reprint or filler story right in the middle of Captain…

or – “I love you the goddamn Batman, you and your goddamn Batmobile” The last time I reviewed All-Star Batman, it had been literally a year since the previous issue hit the stands. At the time I hated, Hated, HATED the title thinking Frank Miller had made a mockery of Batman, taken the money, and run away laughing. After a couple of months of serious contemplating, I’ve totally reversed my feelings on the goddamn Batman. Instead of being the worst title out there, I’m actually looking forward to each and every issue – even more so than what Morrison is…

or “We named you Junior. We named the fish Superman” I have a feeling issue #26 is where we are really going to see Countdown heat up. For the last couple of issues, Countdown seemed to be stuck, barely moving the story – that is until issue #31 arrived. What’s so special about this issue? Oh where to begin?

Booster v. Sinestro Time travel adventures are going to be a pretty hot item over the next couple of years. Legion of Super-heroes are bouncing all around time, Journeyman is scoring high on NBC, and Booster Gold and Rip Hunter are tripping through the time stream. The debut issue was an awesome smack in the face that made me want to follow the adventures of Rip, Booster, and Skeets. As I swim through my growing pile of issues not yet read, issue #2 floated to the surface. Did Geoff Johns and Jeff Katz hit another ball out of the ballpark?…

Or – “How Some People Continue To Get Promoted, I’ll Never Know.” Amanda Waller… A study in contrasts. She’s currently in a position of great power and influence with Checkmate, while simultaneously having been sent to prison a few years ago for manipulating her authority. Certainly, she’s one of DC’s most fascinating characters, and possesses great depth and moral ambiguity that’s interesting, but I wonder who thought it was a good idea to install her as White Queen… Probably Lex Luthor or something. Either way, her manipulations have become more desperate over the last few issues, and the existence of…

Or – “Round Two: FIGHT!” About a skrajillion years ago, waaaay back in the early 90’s, my friend Bruce worked at the arcade in the mall, as steward and quarter-monkey.  The awesome side-effect of it all was after-hours access to the Mortal Kombat 2 machine, and many was the time that Kabal fell in service to my personal empire, but at least I got to cut off Sub-Zero’s head a time or seven.  Take that awesome feeling, multiply it by the moment in ‘Enter The Dragon’ where Bruce Lee fights the cobra, add it a healthy dose of “Black Belt Jones,” fold…

Or – “Why The Huntress Is Not Black Canary In Five Easy Lessons.” Howdy! I usually don’t go off on personal tangents in these recaps (because, really, why the #$&* would you care?) but much like the butcher who backed into the meat grinder, I’ve gotten a little behind in my work. Mea culpa… This issue came out LAST week, but I was busy runnin’ an’ runnin’ an’ runnin’ like a constipated weiner dog, I missed it in the pull list. But, nil desperandum, dear friends, I’m not going to let something like being an idiot deter me from my…