Friday, July 8, 2011

Fear Itself Half-Time Show - Review

juggernaut hulk grey gargoyle fear itself worthy


There's a lot to say about this crossover so far.  Some of it good, some of it bad, and some of it just "What were they thinking?"  I am going to get my biggest gripe out of the way right off the bat.  TOO MANY TIE-INS! If you read any my blogs pertaining to Chaos War or referencing Secret Invasion/Civil War, then you know I hate extraneous and pointless tie-ins.  That said, this is a huge storyline with pieces that go all over the world so it makes sense that we would need a decent amount of extra limiteds and one-shots, and I will even give it to them that most of these tie-ins are really well written.  But I have to ask...did we need a Wolverine limited AND an X-Force limited, both released on the same day?  And since we saw Iron Man's adventure in Paris, did we really need to have a Black Widow one-shot?  Not that Natasha's brief tale wasn't fun, but in a storyline that legitimately covers books countries and many books, was it really needed?

Also, and again I repeat that this is a halftime show so there is still time for all the storyline points to connect and make sense, I feel like with all the Worthy all over the world and superheroes rushing around in circles trying to keep up, some of the finer continuity points are getting lost.  For example, when I picked up this week's batch of issues I read Uncanny X-men before reading Thunderbolts and at the beginning of UXM Juggernaut lands on the ground and begins his trek towards San Francisco.  Now last I was reading, he was fighting the Thunderbolts so when I picked up that issue, I was expecting it to end with Marko taking off into the sky so then he presumably lands in UXM.  However, at the end of the issue he's still screwing things up in Chicago.  So I totally accept that they will reconcile all of this before the end of the crossover but for now it makes things a bit hard to follow and keep straight.

My final big complaint - the death of Bucky.  I get that Marvel feels like someone has to die during every crossover to make its exciting (i.e. Goliath, Wasp, Punisher) but the way they kill characters lately really bugs me.  I mean, they left Bucky dead for how many decades? Then they bring him back, make him Winter Soldier, break his brainwashing and make him Captain America after Steve dies.  They even bother to go through the whole "Who Will Wield the Shield?" scenario just to reassure us that Bucky is Captain America now.  So now after all that storylining and character redemption and they just go and kill him.  I get that importance that the new Red Skull killed the new Captain America but why bother going throuhg all the troubel of making him Captain America and Steve in "Commander Rogers" only to have it go back to the way it was before in the next big crossover?

Now with all that out of the way, I DO love this storyline.  Odin has always been this untouchable father figure without a real story of his own and now in one fell swoop we get new family members and a true showing of how much he thinks of lesser being like humans.  Although part of me feels like he always has every intention of helping Earth defend itself because otherwise how did he hear Tony Stark plea?  I don't think Tony has an Asgardian pipeline directly to the All-Father like Thor does so I think that for him to have heard Tony's cries and seen his sacrifice (the scene watching him give up his sobriety was excellent) he must have been already listening.  I wouldn't be surprised to find that he was just forcing Earth's people and his son to rally their forces and show that they deserve to be saved.  

At first I wasn't sure how I felt about the Serpent, just seemed like another God of Fear or Demon of Fear to me and havent we really seen plenty of those before?  But as he gets more power and his Worthy wreak more and more havoc across the Earth, not to mention the newly revealed brotherly rivalry and stolen throne, I find that I am more and more into this newly revealed Asgardian royal.  At the end of this I would like to see him defeated depowered but not destroyed (as characters tend to be in big Asgardian stories) so that we can see him come back without some crazy ret-con explanation.  Maybe hes the Asgardian Maximus the Mad?  A new foil to Thor and Odin now that Loki (for now) is just a mischievous child not the God of Lies.

Overall I am enjoying this storyline and can't wait to see how it turns out.  Between this, Schism, and Children's Crusade I think we are in for a really exciting year after 2011 ends!

Thursday, July 7, 2011

Illyria vs Magik

In years past a match up like this would not have been necessarily possible, but thanks to the new trend of continuing TV shows in comic book form, we can do anything now!


illyria

VS

Illyana Rasputin "Magik"
Illyana Rasputin "Magik"
For the sake of this mash-up I am going to use each of their best forms.  For Illyria, I am using the version of her just after she took over Fred's body but before she went nuclear with power.  For Magik, I am using her current form since its the one with the most mastery and control of her powers.

Illyria

Powers/Advantages

1) Strength - In this form, Illyria is supremely strong.  She \is shown to be strong enough to take on two vampires at once or fight a fire breathing dragon alone and unarmed.
2) Invulnerable - She is also incredibly durable.  While at full power she is able to withstand swords, axes, and dragon breath as well as take blows (if they land) with offense rather then injury.  Her skin, which in most areas is more like armor, is also capable of regeneration and healing itself.
3) Time Distortion - While it may appear that she vanishes from sight and reappears elsewhere, she actually is able to manipulate time in a controlled area.  She has been shown to slow down time for other while she moves past normally but one can guess that she could also speed up time for an intended target.
4) Speed - Having nothing to do with her time abilities, Illyria is also a very quick and agile opponent.  While not fast enough to move as a blur, enemies (and Spike) have been hard pressed to land even a single blow on her.
5) Empathy - She is able to sense the emotions of those around her. 
6) Fighting Skills - According to Spike, who sparred with her to gauge her abilities, she fighting style is a mixture between Tae Kwon Do and Brazilian Ninjitsu

Weaknesses

Illyria doesn't have any real weaknesses in this form.  She is very prone to disorientation due to the stark newness of her surroundings, and it is also possible that her empathic abilities are slightyl overwhelmed by all the raw human emotion around her.  She also has trouble dealing with the emotional remains of Fred within her.

Magik

Power/Advantages

1) Teleportation - Her primary mutant power is her ability to conjure "stepping discs" into the demonic realm of Limbo and then from there she can summon another disc to anywhere in space or time she chooses.
2) Soul Sword - This blade is fashioned from a piece of Illyana's own soul.  It can not hurt normal people or objects but will disrupt or cancel out magical beings, constructs, or spells. 
3) Soul Armor - Whenever she summons her Soul Sword she is also covered by an enchanted armor made of the same material as the sword.  This armor is shown to be able to resist mighty blows and also grants her a measure of super human strength.
4) Magical Prowess - During her time in Limbo Illyana was an apprentice to both Belasco and Storm.  From Storm, she learned all about white magic and its healing effects, but by Belasco she was tutored in the Black Arts.  She uses a combination of these teachings to create many magical effects including: 
  • Summoning lesser demons
  • Blasts of magical energy
  • Necromancy
  • Astral Projection
  • Possession
  • Scrying (using her enchanted mirror)
  • Generation and manipulation of eldritch fire
  • Magical Force Fields
  • Casting magical spells from arcane lore
5) Fight Skills - During the years in Limbo, there was a period where she was taught how to survive on the harsh Limbo terrain by Cat, an alternate version of Kitty Pryde twisted by Belasco's magic.

Weaknesses

Illyana's main weakness is that the majority of her magical abilities are restricted to only when she is in Limbo..  Outside of Limbo she is limited to just the use of her stepping discs and her Soul Sword.  Also, her Soul Armor must by summoned like her Sword so, if caught unaware without it on, she can be injured the same as any normal human.

Fight!

Let's just assume that this battle start in our dimension, the first thing that Illyana would do is try to get Illyria into Limbo so she can access the full array of her sorceress powers.  In years past this would never happen but now that she has fully mastered her stepping disc power there is a much better chance of success.  Now with Illyria's time distortion abilities this is still much easier said then done but between dodging stepping discs and swings from the Soul Sword (which I believe would cause incredible damage to Illyria who is chock full of magical energy) I think that eventually Illyria would misstep and find herself within the demonic realm of Limbo.  As long as they remain on Earth this batlte would pretty much be a game of cat and mouse between the two "women" and if god forbid Illyria caught Magik, she would brutalize her (although the second Illyria took her hands off of her, Illyana would teleport away).

Once the battle made its way to Limbo though the odds change considerably.  First, Illyana would summon the strongest demons under her command to restrain the she-god, which Illyria would promptly tear to shred.  This would give Illyana the moment reprieve she needed to build some of her own mystical energy and unleash an arcane blast of fury at Illyria that would her down for a few moments.  These precious moments would give Illyana the needed seconds to stab her with the Soul Sword.  Short of decapitation, it is doubtful that this would kill Illyria still and coupled with her rapid healing skin she'd be back up on her feet soon enough.  

This battle will predominantly be determined by not just Illyana's ability to stay out of Illyria's reach but also her ability to get Illyria to Limbo.  As long as she is on Earth, she can avoid and dodge Illyria all she wants but she can't do any real damage except, again, to cut Illyria's head off with her Sword which I doubt Illyria's time powers will allow while still on Earth.  In Limbo, Illyana's power greatly increases and she gains the ability to properly damage Illyria with her magic but even still she has to contend with Illyria's constant regeneration.

In the end, I think that Illyria would win in this battle just based on shear endurance.  Even with all of the arcane might at her disposal, eventually Illyana's magical resources would be tapped out and Illyria's "armor" would continue to repair itself throughout the battle.  There is also the chance that Illyana could get killing head shot on Illyria but I really think that would be a slim chance.

New York Comic-Con 2011 - Tickets On-Sale

The New York Comic-Con and Anime Festival is fast approaching in just a few short months!!

Now I am sure that everyone already HAS their tickets but just in case you don't, click this link:

Buy Tickets - New York Comic-Con 2011

The site has all kinds of information on exhibits, panels, guests, and everything else you want to know!

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

My Weekly Pull List - 7/6/11



FEAR ITSELF #4 (FI)
FEAR ITSELF UNCANNY X-FORCE #1 (FI)
FEAR ITSELF WOLVERINE #1 (FI)
FEAR ITSELF YOUTH IN REVOLT #3 (FI)
HEROES FOR HIRE #9 (FI)
THUNDERBOLTS #160 (FI)
UNCANNY X-MEN #540 (FI)
VENGEANCE #1
X-MEN #14 

I thought about picking up the new Red Skull #1 but it doesn't seem to be a real Fear Itself tie-in so I'm gonna skip it.  I'll get it later if it somehow gets relevant.

Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Repowering the Mutants: Too Soon?

rictor scarlet witch hope summers M-Day Decimation, Avengers Childrens Crusade

So at this point the fact that Wanda's returned and may or may not start repowering mutants is no longer news and these aren't spoilers.

I've been reading and posting on several different forums sites and this topic has sparked QUITE the controversy.  Yes even I have succumbed to some sniping with people who have opposing (dare I even say "warring") opinions.

So far opinion has been very split whether or not Wanda should be back and repowering mutants, and, further, what does this mean for M-Day, Decimation, Hope Summers, and the years of gripping stories about the struggling depowered mutants we've been reading?

On one hand, there are those who feel very strongly that it was only a matter of time before not only did Wanda come back but until all the mutants somehow got their powers back.  Now, as of now many high profile mutants have recovered their powers in one form or another (like Professor X, Magneto, Polaris, and Quicksilver to name a few), but the large bulk of the world's mutants remain depowered, and that's not even referring to the countless depowered mutants who lost their lives in the fallout from Decimation (R.I.P. Antonio, Wing, Jay Guthrie, Laurie Collins, and the 27 students who were on the exploding bus).  And let's not forget who we are dealing with here people.  Marvel Comics, as much as I love them to death, are KNOWN for ret-conning their storylines, often in colorful and elaborate ways.  This trend is part of what gives Marvel such an intricate backstory, because half of it got thought up much much later.  That's what one half of the debate is saying.

The other half does not agree.  They are appalled that after giving us years of character growth and development, they are just slipping back into something old and simple.   Some reader weren't happy to see Rictor get his powers back, and felt that it destroyed everything that the writers of X-Factor have built since the character tried to kill himself in the first issue.  Also, its easy to see how Wanda's return and repowering of mutants (even one at a time) could not only nullify Hope Summers' role as Mutant Messiah but also makes her entire journey and struggle to get back to this time somewhat less dire.  There's also, again, the depowered mutants who died, not to mention the ones who lived who wished they hadn't, which all amounts to a degree of genocide that she, whether she repowers mutants or not, is responsible for.  Most of these people think her return and the lifting of her curse could have waited, if it happened at all.

Well, I don't know that there is a right answer, just varying opinions, but lets examine the details.  First let's deal with the Hope thing.  Right off the bat: Wanda's repowering mutants and Hope is fixing the powers of new mutants so its not so much the Wanda would be invalidating Hope's purpose as much as it is Hope just not doing what we expected her to do.  Now if you want to be mad, this is the reason to do it people!  We spent over 2 years and several millenium watching this girl grow up so she could come back and save the mutants, but she only saved and really gives a crap about a handful of brand new mutants (I am sure more then one Utopia resident isn't pleased by that).  Also, back to Wanda, she very clearly isn't erasing Decimation (she said flat out that she can't) so I don't completely understand why people are so upset.  She can't give everyone back their powers, she can't resurrect the dead mutants and she can't undo the damage it all caused.  AT BEST, she can restore one mutant at a time so even IF all the mutants wanted their powers back it would take a very long time.  So really everyone's just upset that Rictor got his powers back...why?  He's proven that he doesn't need them so does that mean he should never get them back?  And isn't this why we read storylines? To see them resolved, right?  I would be upset if Wanda waved her hand and everyone got their powers back and all was well, but that's not whats happening.  This still looks like its going to be a long and arduous journey for Wanda and those around her, which to me makes it just the next chapter in this amazing story Marvel has been telling.

Monday, July 4, 2011

Marvel Comics On-Sale 7/6/11

Here's the list of Marvel Comics On-Sale 7/6/11

marvel comics on sale fear itself x-men thunderbolts heroes for hire x-23 vengeance wolverine captain america thor


ASTONISHING THOR #5
CAP AND THOR AVENGERS #1
CARS 2 #2
DARK TOWER GUNSLINGER BATTLE OF TULL #2
FEAR ITSELF #3 2ND PRINTING VARIANT
FEAR ITSELF #4 (FI)
FEAR ITSELF UNCANNY X-FORCE #1 (FI)
FEAR ITSELF WOLVERINE #1 (FI)
FEAR ITSELF YOUTH IN REVOLT #3 (FI)
HEROES FOR HIRE #9 (FI)
HULK #36 
MARVEL SUPER STARS MAGAZINE #5
MOON KNIGHT #3
OZMA OF OZ #8
RED SKULL #1 
SPIDER-GIRL #8
SPIDER-MAN POWER COMES RESPONSIBILITY #4
SUPER HERO SQUAD MMO MAGAZINE #1
SUPREME POWER #2 (MR)
THUNDERBOLTS #160 (FI)
UNCANNY X-MEN #540 (FI)
VENGEANCE #1
WOLVERINE AND BLACK CAT CLAWS 2 #1
X-23 #12
X-MEN #14 

(FI) = Fear Itself Tie-in

Sunday, July 3, 2011

10 Tips to Cheaper Comic Collecting

We all love comics, but the reality of the industry is that they are expensive.  With cover prices now starting at $2.99 and skyrocketing upwards, there is no denying the financial toll that this hobby takes on a collector.  So I put together a quick list of tips to help with the financial burden while you are trying to fill out the gaps in your collection.


  1. eBay.  This is the first and best tip I can give you, and here are a few ways to cash in: 
    • Lots - On eBay (and similar sites) you can buy your back issues in group or clump of issues.  A lot of seller will sell a specific run of comics or all the issues of a crossover or (as in my case, see my Buying/Selling page) just a random grouping of issues for a set price.  Now here is where a bit of math comes in.  You have to figure out the price per issue to determine if the deal is worth it.  Do this by dividing the total price by the # of issues WARNING: DO NOT FORGET THE SHIPPING!  Some of your trickier sellers will offer you items at an insanely low price and then gouge you with an exorbitant shipping fee.  Do not fall for this, take the extra time to do the math and get the best deal.
    • Big stores - A lot of your larger eBay stores (i.e. Mile High Comics, My Comic Shop) will sell a large bulk of their back issue for $1-$1.50 with flat rate shipping regardless of the size of your order.  If you are buying one specific issues, this might not be your best bet but if you are ordering 10-20 issues or more at a time then the savings really add up!
    • Don't Buy the First Thing You See - Don't buy an issue the first time you find it. Utilize the Watch and Compare features of your eBay account and take the time to research your product.  Make sure you are getting the best deal possible especially if you aren't dealing in the $1 comics.  You can find some really amazing deals on old and rare issue if you're patient.
  2.  Cheap Boxes - Some, not all, comic stores will have several large bins labeled "50 cents" or "$1".  THESE ARE TREASURE TROVES and not to be underestimated.  These boxes are typically FULL of issues that most readers don't want and aren't looking for, but they are also home to that one part of a crossover you missed.  And that last part of the limited series that sold out 5 years ago.  Not to mention all kinds of cool stuff you don't even know you were missing until you see it there.  Definitely worth a look through!
  3. Back Issue Boxes - On the saving hierarchy, these rank relatively low, but for the more advanced and experienced collector, who knows what to looks for, this is where you will find most of your issues in the store.
  4. Comic Shows - If you have the luxury of living near one of the larger comic book conventions in the world then you know this is the home of deals everywhere!  Here you will find everything I've already listed and more!  50 cent, $1, discounted lots, and 25-80% of issues everywhere.  Its hard to move and not trip over a bargain here.  Spend with caution.
  5. No Subscriptions - For some people this is unavoidable, but if you have access to a living breathing comic store then GO THERE.  Mail ordering comics my be convenient but many subscription services do not offer flat rate shipping. So the amount you save on the issues by ordering  through the mail does not cover what you end up spending on the shipping.
  6. Buy Supplies in Bulk - This one also requires a bit of math.  When buying your bags and boards (assuming, of course, you as a collector USE bags and boards) buy the packages of 100.  It may cost more at the moment but in the long run you save a good amount and if you are purchasing 8-10 or more issues in a week, these costs add up.
  7. Trade with Friends - You will be amazed how many people have comic books just laying around.  Most of your friends probably have comics that were left/given to them or they bought out of boredom, and chances are they don't want them or care about them that much.  Make them an offer!  Most friends, unless its a particularly expensive or rare issue or they are still a collector themselves, will be more then willing to part with it for reasonably cheap (and in some cases free).
  8. Know Your Stores - If you're really serious about filling out your collection then knwo the comic book stores in your area.  Know what they have so that you know where to go when you're looking for something.  If you know one store has is more reliable for pulling new issues but another has a better back issue selection then by all means go to both!  There's no law that says you have to stick to one store.
  9. Sell! - If you use all the tips above then inevitably you will probably end up with some doubles.  Whether you went nutty at a 50 cent bin (trust me it will seem worth it to spend the 2 quarters rather then miss an issue you aren't sure if you have) or you bought a lot and already had some issues, you will amass a doubles collection.  Sell them!! You don't needs them or they are probably starting to take up space.  Post on eBay, offer them in trades to friends or even (as a last resort) sell them to the local comic store.  You won't get great deals (especially at the comics store, simple fact not opinion) but keep in mind that at a certain point they are just collecting dust.
  10. Know What You Are Buying - Be smart!  If you are going to seriously get into collecting know what you are talking about.  Understand about grading, at least the basics.  Know what things are supposed to cost as opposed to what you are paying.  Take the time to do the math on your purchases, you'll be really glad you did.

Happy 4th of July Weekend

What is everyone up to for this holiday weekend??


I hope that everyone is having a fun and safe holiday this weekend.  Drink responsibly and have a great time!