Browsing: Review

Or – “When Did The Wrecking Crew Turn Into Psychopathic Serial Killer Types?” Talisman is not happy, and with good reason. Look at it from her perspective: American superheroes have a problem with one of their OWN, The Scarlet Witch. She snaps, changes reality, then when it changes back, her stupidity causes a mailman to be empowered and kill Talisman’s father (AND nearly the entirety of Canadia’s superhuman defenders.) America has ANOTHER problem, and suddenly super-villains are flooding Canadia’s borders, Sasquatch (her last link to Alpha Flight, and one of the last links to her lost family) disappears while engaging…

Or – “This One Time?  At Band Camp?  I Totally Set My Hands On FIRE!” Hey, whenever you can make an Allyson Hannigan…  Allisyn Hannigon?  Alisin Haniggin?  Alison Hanigon?  Forget it, I’ll just call her Willow…  Any time you can make a ‘Willow-doing-naughty-things’ joke, you have to make it. It’s in the Comic Geek Code, right after ‘Thou shalt not avoid a chance to argue Superman Vs. The Hulk’ and before ‘Lo, it is written that Greedo did shoot first, and thus shall it be spake.’  In either case, with this issue we officially see the return of the troika…

Or – “I’d Hate To Be An Attorney In The Marvel Universe…” Can you imagine trying to practice law in an environment where it’s ILLEGAL to be a superhero, but perfectly legal for the government to draft fourteen-year-old girls into combat? Can you define the boundaries of jurisprudence when the “top cop” in your country has nanobot spy-eyes anywhere that the wind can blow, but can’t keep track of his own villains? How about a world where it’s considered acceptable to take away She-Hulk’s powers, leaving her powerless with NO secret identity and a rogues gallery that crushes Buicks on…

Or -“Since You Won’t Join In On My Internet Meme, Time To Drop Some Knowledge…” There’s just no excuse for the lack of information available on the heroes of my youth in this, the so-called information age. When I can easily access incredibly sensitive personal data, download the plans for any number of unwise-to-create devices, or see one of thousands of pictures of Britney’s bajingo, it’s absolutely criminal to see the dearth of solid information on something as basic as The Legion of Superheroes. I’ve been talking up Blok, the Legion’s resident philosopher, historian, and silicon lifeform for a couple…

Or – “You Realize If We Played By The Rules, Right Now We’d Be In Gym?” People in the Marvel Universe lay a lot of blame at the feet of Peter Parker, calling him a menace, a criminal, accusing him of things that he couldn’t POSSIBLY have done unless he could be in three places at once, acting so differently that he might as well have been written by three different people. *uncomfortable silence* Uh… yeah. But in any case, among the things that absolutely, unequivocally ARE the fault of Peter Parker are the plights of the kids called the…

“This is the end…the end my friend, the end…” So this is it, the final bow, the big finale, the wrap up of the weekly series that has propelled some of the lesser known DC Characters to the forefront and engrossed readers for an entire year. This week, most of the unanswered questions get answered, Mr. Mind gets even more vile, the official return of the Multiverse, the return of someone we thought dead, and an appearance by someone who is apparently still dead.

Or – “Two Excellent Books Are Crossing Over… And You’re Reading SPAWN, Aren’t You?” I know, I know, I shouldn’t be mean about Spawn… Every single title out there is somebody’s fave-rave, and just ’cause I don’t get it (and maybe resent Todd McFarlane’s general public persona and history of questionable litigatory decisions) doesn’t mean that it isn’t awesome in… some… way. Maybe… Anyway, back in the realm of statements that keep my foot out of mouth, we’re about to embark on an interesting case study in the DCU. Outsiders, a relatively underrated book with a ton of neat characters…

Or – “Even Among All This Eye-Candy, It’s Still All About Shang-Chi. KYAIIIII!!” Happy Free Comic Book Day! While you’re at your friendly local comic shop, (Possibly even Gatekeeper Hobbies, Huntoon & Gage, Topeka! Ask ’em about our Wonder Woman Volume 1 back issues!) don’t forget to engage in one of the great pleasures of comic book collecting: rifling the back issues for something you want. Comic collecting is all about the thrill of the hunt, searching down the appearances of a certain character, creator, or team, whether you want a full run of Lee/Kirby ‘Fantastic Four,’ the first appearance…

Or – “Anybody Feel Like A Little Duck Pâté?” The flying feathers crack me up… Looks like Cleveland’s finest could use a little ‘duck tape!’ Hey, don’t blame me, the comic made all the GOOD puns already. Now that the image of Zombie Howard The Duck has replaced Baby MODOK as the coolest individual comic book image of the last year or so, and it’s obvious that Ash has escaped his fatal “beakdown,” the truth can be revealed. Spoilerites are a sharp-eyed breed, and many of you picked up on the clues at the end of last issue, but here’s……

Or – “I Think Roosevelt Once Said Something About Changing Horses Midstream…” This particular issue was solicited as: SUPERGIRL AND THE LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES #29 Written by Mark Waid Art by Barry Kitson & Mick Gray Cover by Kitson Of those promised things, the only one that’s actually true of what we GET is “Cover by Kitson.” Incorrect solicitations are the kind of thing that usually tick me off, since I’m committing to buy a comic three months in advance. And, since my friendly local comic store (Gatekeeper Hobbies, Huntoon & Gage, Topeka! Ask us about our Fred J. Dukes…

Or – “How We Got Where We Were A Year Ago But Now Aren’t Anymore…” Perhaps the most unpleasant realization of the “One Year Later” stories is the gnawing feeling that the writers DIDN’T KNOW how their characters got to this new status quo, and that when the time came to reveal the truth, it felt like a lot of vamping and ad libbing. Granted, 52 became less of a “story of the DC universe” and more an untraditional superhero narrative about Ralph, Booster, Montoya, and (to a somewhat lesser degree) John-Henry Irons, but even the last three weeks of…

Or – “Real 1970’s Comics Were Pretty Much This Weird, Too…” In the “Me Decade,” there was a lot of cultural shifting going on: the civil rights movement was in full swing, a related women’s rights movement got it’s start, and countries around the globe didn’t even realize that they were beginning to create a world culture and economy.  This upheaval was reflected in the comics of the time, unsurely trying to stake out new territory as a medium for “adults.”  We saw Clark Kent become a newscaster and finally give up his blue pinstripe suit, we saw unusual concepts and characters,…

Or – “I’m Going To Tell You From Memory Who These People Are… Just Because I Can.” Left to right, starting with the back row: Tasmia Mallor, Shadow Lass of Talok VII. Jacques Foccart, Invisible Kid II of Earth. Brek Bannin, Polar Boy of Tharr. Dawnstar (her real name) of Starhaven. Blok (likewise) of Dryad. Chuck Taine, Bouncing Boy of Earth. Luornu Durgo, Triplicate Girl/Duo Damsel of Cargg (also spelled Carggg). Andrew Nolan, Ferro Lad of Earth. Tenzil Kem, Matter-Eater Lad of Bismoll (the capital city is Pepto, you do the math.) Projectra, Sensor Girl of Orando. Back over on…

Or – “Everybody Was Kung-Fu Fighting… IN THE FUTURE!!!” The launches of Justice League and Justice Society have been interesting contrasts, with JLA taking the looong way around to a story that didn’t really do much for me, and JSA starting with a bang, and running breakneck through their opening arc. The real contrast seems to be in terms of story structure, with the League telling us a lot but showing very little and the Society somewhat doing the opposite. Both teams have had strange interactions with time-lost members of a third superteam, the Legion of Superheroes, and their stories…