Friday, February 10, 2012

Flash Review - 2/2/12


Avengers Academy #25 – Well it was really nice to see them finally step up the action after a few episodes of character buildings and shady glimpses of the future, but I’m still not completely sold on this storyline.  It’s nice to see Reptil and Finesse’s future daughter and all the zaniness of the other future Academy students, but I am just not really feeling too invested in where the whole thing is going.  It was funny watching Hazmat fry X-23 and Rover’s head get taken apart, but that’s where most of the excitement was.  Even the surprise ending of Jocasta and Veil coming back wasn’t really issue-saving news.

Avengers X-Sanction #3 – Eh…it doesn’t suck but the series is a bit light.  I loved the Summers family reunion at the end of the issue but for the most part the entire run just feels like a cheap way to bring back Cable and a momentary stop over before the big Phoenix storyline coming up.  There’s only one issue left and the sotry hasn’t been boring so far so no huge complaints.  I do wish they’d been a bit more creative with Cable’s return though.

Defenders #3 – OK writers let’s calm down now! This is all getting a little bit weird.  I am totally down for the Nul storyline, and I love a Mount Wundagore tale as much as the next person but all the business with Prester John and the other Prester John is just a little much.  I’m not giving up on the series yet (mostly because Red She-hulk is so damn cool) but let’s get it together guys!

Fear Itself: The Fearless #8 – ::Sigh:: Yes everyone, I’m sorry...but this series is still happening.  The best part about this issue was guest appearances by Emma Frost and Dani Moonstar with Emma actually showing her rarely seen soft side.  The fact that she bothered to mention that Dani would not be punished shows just how far she’s come.  Other than this scene, I was bored to tears with this entire issue.  I just can’t wait for it to be over.

Uncanny X-men #6 – OK I’m a little unsure about this current story but it’s exciting at the very least.  Lots of fighting and action going on but for some reason I still find the whole Tabula Rasa situation to be a bit strange.  Maybe it’s because it reminds me of a Neo-Savage Land minus the arctic locale but who knows.  This has forever and always been my favorite title but it saddens me to say that so far Wolverine and the X-men is kicking Uncanny’s ass.  Listening to the 65 million year history of this new world from their jailer/ally was interesting, and maybe we will get to hear more about it but as far as the Immortal Man story, I’m not feeling it.

Venom #14 – I don’t usually read Venom but I decided to pick up this issue for the Circle of Four storyline and so far…eh.  The art’s not great (Red Hulk looked slightly handicapped in my opinion) and I am not really getting grabbed by the storyline.  It’s only a few weeks’ worth of issues so I’m gonna keep collecting the story to see if it gets better but definitely off to a slow start (except for the flaming centrifuge…that was cool).

X-Club #3 – The best part of this series is it’s funny take on the usually SO serious science crowd of the X-men.  Now I will be the first to admit that Madison Jeffries objectophelia is more than a little bit creepy.  I hope that the mind-talking starfish never comes off of Nemesis’ head and that we see him riding radioactive hammerheads forever!  That sadly will not be the case, but I’m at least having fun for these few issues, even if the storyline is a little iffy.

X-Factor #231 – Excuse me! Where’s Havok and Polaris.  I waited months for last issue and them to join and not only did we just get a last panel cliffhanger but now they aren’t even shown in this issue.  I’m completely over Jaime’s reality jumping adventure.  Get over it writers!  Bring him back so we can get back to the rest of the team.  I imagine Monet is going to have a LOT to say about Alex and Lorna taking over the reins of the team…and I am eager to see it!  I will say this much.  When did Deathlok cyborgs become the go to guest star for Marvel titles again?  He’s all over the place now!

Otherworld War - Review Uncanny X-Force #21



                Jesus, remember in Excalibur (Vol. 1) when the Captain Britain Corps was a bunch of limey blokes who hung around Otherworld, a kooky land where magic reigned and Merlin occasionally caused his silly mischief?  Yeah well that’s over.  This isn’t your parents Otherworld kids!  In this new magical realm we have warring factions, a brutal Captain Britain Corp who does just punish criminals but erases them from existence, and a sane Jaime Braddock has more than a little bit of influence.  Also Deadpool still has no head following his decapitation last issue.  The best part of this issue is that it gave us an update of where some of our ole English favorites are lately.

                I’ll be the first to admit that I didn’t read the MI:13 title when it was running so I might be a little bit behind on my Captain Britain and Meggan history, but I know all about him ruling Otherworld and her being Gloriana and what not.  What I didn’t know was what happened to Saturnyne and Widget in the last bunch of years!  Truth be told I only picked up the entire original run of Excalibur (issues #1-70) like a year or two ago, so all the stories involving these two character are relatively fresh for me and it was exciting to see them around again.  For Widget it was nice to see him (or, more accurately, her since Widget is technically the spirit of Kitty Pryde from the future, but that’s a much longer story then I have space/time for now) returned to his former floating head form again, and I hope that we see more of him/her before the storyline ends.  As for Saturnyne, well I was a bit taken aback by her whole involvement in the situation.  I mean, she was always yelling about punishing this one or that one and threatening to erase Earth-616 from the multi-verse, but to be honest they always seemed like idle threats used mostly to motivate Captain Britain or Excalibur into action.  Like back at the end of the Cross-Time Caper, after having Phoenix chased across England and the timestream, she clearly wasn’t fooled by a simple “Kitty Pryde” disguise.  She chose to let the Phoenix host go free, but yet she’s going to have Fantomex from reality for shooting a kid that MAY have grown up to be Apocalypse?  And as for the strange phenomenon of him being the only Fantomex in any reality…well so what?  That’s just another trait that he and Rachel Summers have in common.  I think there’s more going on here than just his shooting of Apocalypse Jr., and I bet Jaime has something to do with it…

                And is it me or did Otherworld suddenly get much larger and more brutal??  In the past, the most we’ve seen of this mystical realm was the Elysium Fields surrounding the Starlight Citadel but all of a sudden we are getting a new look at this ethereal realm complete with evil forests, ram-headed evil mystics, and Besty Braddock siding against her brothers and the entire Corps. On the bright side we also got to see Besty in the guise of Lady Britain, which we haven’t been seen since the late 70’s-early 80’s.  I’ve never seen the land of Otherworld take on such a brutal tone and rely so heavily on physical force rather than magic. Even the supposed erasure of Fantomex is uncharacteristically brutal when we’ve certainly heard of characters being “erased” using a spell or some other less violent method.  Needles into his brain just seemed to be a be unnecessary in my humble opinion.

                Overall this was a great second chapter to this arc.  We had some updates on some old favorites, and an expansion on a long standing world not to mention revisiting an old look for a popular character.  I am not sure that I like the brutal tone that the writers are giving to this once light hearted and magical world but I still give them lots of points for creativity.  I’m also not completely sold on the art; Greg Tocchini’s art rings a bit cartoony for my taste but still, he rendered the character very well.  On the other hand, it was nice to see Nightcrawler’s reaction to other people mistaking him for his counterpart softening a bit.  He was far too caustic originally so it’s nice to see him relaxing into his new life better.  Thus far, I think this arc is off to a great start, and I can’t wait to see what’s going on and if Jaime is secretly still completely insane.

Thursday, February 9, 2012

My Weekly Pull List - 2/9/12



Do we finally find out what the hell is up with Marcus Johnson this week in Battle Scars? Magma goes on a date with...Mephisto!  The battle between Wolverine and Kid Omega heats up!  And the hunt is on for vampire Jubilee in X-men!

Battle Scars #4 SH
Carnage U.S.A. #3
Journey into Mystery #634 SH
New Mutants #37
Secret Avengers #22
Venom #13.1 C4
Wolverine and the X-Men #5
Wolverine and the X-Men: Alpha & Omega #2
X-Men #24

C4 = Circle of Four
SH = Shattered Heroes

Flash Review - 1/25/12



Angel & Faith #6 – After a great opening arc, the series continues with more back story on Giles and the Watcher’s Counsel not to mention Faith stepping up as Slayer Trainer extraordinaire!  Add that to Druscilla coming back and a weirdo “doctor” who “cures” people by slicing into their heads and this title doesn’t seem to be losing any steam anytime soon.  And is it me or did Druscilla seem like she was ALMOST sane?  And last but not least…Faith father???  Didn’t you all just assume she sprang fully formed from a bed of Awesomeness in the instant Kendra died?  I know I did.

Astonishing X-men #46 – Yes…this storyline is STILL happening.  At the very least though, they gave us a bit of background on what’s going on, but even still this entire arc just seems like Marvel doesn’t know what to do with this title Post-Schism and isn’t willing to cancel it either (probably out of some misguided loyalty because of how amazing it USED to be.  Whatever the reason for this terrible storyline, they better get their act together QUICK because there are already too many X-titles out there and we don’t need one that’s floundering month after month.

Alpha Flight #8 – I loved this title but I have to be honest, I am glad it’s over.  I was disappointed at first when I heard Alpha Flight was only getting a limited and then overjoyed to hear that it got promoted to ongoing.  However, once the story got going (which was an amazing story I might add), the entire feel of the book just didn’t seem like it could or should continue.  Then, oddly enough, as quickly as they told us ongoing, we instantly went back to hearing limited again.  So when the story ended with this issue, it feel like the right thing to have the series end too.  That all being said…wow!  An epic battle, that would draw in even the most casual Flight reader, and a twist ending to boot.  With the Master of the World defeated and the Unity process completely reversible, we all expected a relatively happy ending.  Heather unfortunately didn’t see it that way and took off with she and Mac’s baby.  On the bright side Jean-Paul and Kyle were back together and Marrina was still not evil so all was not totally lost.  I just wonder where we will see this story pick up: another Alpha Flight series or some guest appearances in some other title?

Avengers: Solo #4 – The Hawkeye’s story is boring.  I could go into more detail but it would just be repeating what I’ve said in the past or even in my head sounds kind of snotty so I’ll just skip it.  On the other hand, I still love the Avengers Wes…oops I mean Avengers Academy back-up story.  And, with everything going on with Finesse (i.e. her future memory loss) and Striker (and his being gay) in their regular series, it’s really interesting to see them here because this story still takes place well before the latest issue of that title.  I just generally love seeing these kids anywhere to be honest.  From not liking the title at all to having Academy be one of favorites, I’ll pick up any title that features them, so I’m looking forward to the conclusion of the series saving back-up story.

FF #14 – ::Sigh::  I gave this title a chance because even though I don’t like to follow Fantastic Four, I really enjoyed reading about the kids and their kooky adventures.  But as of late the art is lagging and the stories are beginning to get weird and pointlessly complex.  I love a good Celestial storyline as much as everyone else but all this weirdness with Nathanial and Valeria, and Doom and Valeria is just getting to be a bit much.  I’ll give this title a couple of more issues to grab my attention again but I starting to consider dropping this title.  A Power Pack story next issue should lighten the mood bit, so maybe that will help.

Secret Avengers #21.1 – Great issue for so many reasons.  First of all Cap testing Hawkeye is just hilarious in its own right.  That being said, I am so glad that Steve is leaving this title and handing over the reins to someone a little shadier then America’s Boy Scout.  I also liked seeing that even after all these years, these two still can’t help getting on each other nerves a little bit.  Even though most of the things Steve said were to provoke a reaction, I am fairly certain most of them come from some sort of truth.  Another high point of this issue:  Vengeance!  I also crapped myself when a strangely green Vengeance rode out on his equally strange green flaming motorcycle.  And then it all made sense… He was Vengeance: the Spirit of…Pollution?  Yes that’s right, Spirit of Pollution instead of Vengeance.  At that point I stopped crapping myself and almost died of laughter.  I loved the old Vengeance from the 90’s and I was sort of hoping that it was a reincarnation of this character, but this is just as good and a hell of a lot funnier.  I seriously hope this guy pops up again.  Looking forward to the roster change next issue, with Hawkeye leading and Captain Britain and Giant Man as members.  I can’t wait to see how that happens.

Marvel On-sale - 2/9/12



More mid-west Carnage over in Carnage USA this week!  Is Steve Rogers...a Super-Soldier no more!?  Meanwhile Hawkeye takes of the Secret Avengers and the Circle of Four moves full speed ahead in Venom #13.1!

Battle Scars #4 SH
Black Panther: The Most Dangerous Man Alive #529
Captain America #8 SH
Carnage U.S.A. #3
Daken: Dark Wolverine #21
Deadpool #50
Deadpool #50 (Bradshaw Variant)
Deadpool #50 (Blank Variant)
Incredible Hulk #4
Journey into Mystery #634 SH
Marvel Adventures Super Heroes #23
New Mutants #37
Northanger Abbey #4
Scarlet Spider #2
Secret Avengers #22
Secret Avengers #22 (Hardman Variant)
Venom #13.1 C4
Wolverine and the X-Men #5
Wolverine and the X-Men: Alpha & Omega #2
X-Men #24

C4 = Circle of Four
SH = Shattered Heroes

Monday, February 6, 2012

Super Bowl Avengers Trailer!

Here's the clip from Avengers that was aired during the Super Bowl last night!  Great team shots of the characters!