Saturday, March 23, 2013

COMIC BOOK ROUND UP 3/23/13

My apologies dear readers. I completely forgot to do the last bi weekly of this column. I have no idea why, but I apologize. This one is going to be very, very long. To make it worse, in two weeks I will be attending Cinema Wasteland with the lovely Martha Waltz so, I won't be in town to hit up the comic book store. Unless I find a comic book store in Strongsville.
Hang on, because this one is going to be Uber long!

Captain America #4



As if it wasn't bad enough in the first issue where there was a page that read; 'One Year Later', this issue starts with a similar page only it's been eleven years.
Eleven years!
Steve Rogers has stolen Zola's son, Ian and raised him as his own. He has a Zola face grafted to his chest and fights against it every waking moment. Zola's daughter who looks so much like a Kirby creation that it hurts is on the hunt for Captain America to avenger her brother. See, Zola and her think Ian is dead.
They couldn't be more wrong.
As this epic continues to unfold I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop. I'm curious how this amount of time is passing without affecting the rest of the Marvel Universe. I am really interested to see how they resolve this one.

Captain America #5


Zola and his daughter catch up with Captain America and Ian and are shocked that Ian still lives. Zola is ready to just call it quits with Captain America. Now he has to try and undo the conditioning of twelve years that Cap has left on Ian.
It won't be very easy.
This was another consistent issue of goodness. I think part of me is just curious to see how it plays out and it does remind me of old Kirby stuff so, kind of a win-win situation.

Uncanny Avengers #4



Thor is under the power of the new and improved Red Skull. Can Scarlet Witch and Havok take him out before he does something he'll regret. Wolverine is down for the count and something has to give.
For a four issue run to start a series, this was a good way to go. We see the beginnings of a team that will show people what true heroes are, mutant or otherwise.
I'm glad I got this book and will stick with it. Of all the Avengers books out there, this is my favorite.

Dial H (So far)


I considered going through these one at a time, but there are so many of them. I am doing the bi weekly catch up so eventually it will be single issue reviews, but for now we do it this way.
First off, I can't find issue #2 so that will have to wait. What we do get is the washed up boxer, Nelson Jent, teaming up with little old lady hero Roxie Hodder who has been dialing up for quite some time now.
But, there is a secret little group that wants the dial for their own and they summon a huge creature known as Abyss who may just take out the world if they can't get their act together.
Especially since the dials are broken.
Now for the hero list;
Issue three has Roxie turning into something with firehoses for hands and feet that let her fly and do other cool stuff. A little like Mr. Fantastic at times as well.
Baroness Resin is Nelson's form in this issue and he's a little thrown off by being a woman. Roxie keeps her standard costume on and is huge and muscular.
Issue four has a villain with one of the dials who becomes Tap Out. She has a sink knob on her head and hot and cold faucets for arms.
Nelson becomes Rescue Jack. Not a dial character, just something he threw together to save Roxie.
Issue Five gives us one new hero and it might be the best. Cock A Hoop is part super rooster and a hula hoop. Such a great look and my favorite in the series so far.
I feel like they are slighting us on heroes in a series that is known for a lot of different heroes. Hopefully this will improve over the series.

Doctor Who Classics #1


IDW is giving us some classic adventures in this series. Sylvester McCoy is The Doctor in the two bizarre tales in this issue. In the first one he lands on a planet of monsters waiting for their doom and the second one has a very cartoony feel as Dr. Who meets The Sleeze Brothers. Such a fun read. CAn not wait for the next issue.

Justice League of America #2




 Issue one gave us the beginnings of the team and now they are together on their first mission against a secret society of super villains  (Hey! Wasn't that a comic book?). Only everything is not what it seems. Stargirl is sent out to talk to the world and Catwoman is told to keep a low profile. She finds she has more in common with Steve Trevor than she knew.
Major complaints on this issue is the Martian Manhunter back up story makes for a short main story read. And Green Arrow's mask is stupid looking.

Age of Ultron Book One/Book Two


Marvel says that this takes place in the current continuity. I'm not buying it. The basic premise is that Ultron has taken over the world. We can only verify New York, but it seems more global than we thought. First issue was focused on Hawkeye and Spider Man while the second book is a lot of Black Widow and Moon Knight. So, they are taking an Avenger from the movie and adding another character from the Marvel Universe for each issue? Okay. I still don't see how they are going to pull this off, but I'll stick around for the run. Why not? I haven't participated in a comic book event in forever. It'll be fun, right?