DEXTER HAS PASSED

I don't usually do the death reporting on this blog, but this one hit pretty close to home. Dexter's Laboratory, Rugrats, Darkwing Duck are cartoons that I watched with my children as they grew up. Christine Cavanaugh was the voice of Gosalyn, Chuckie and Dexter. At the too young age of 51 she has passed away and the world is a little darker for it.
I think after work I'm going to need to watch some Dexter's Lab.
Bleh!

Comic Review Round Up 12/30/14

Last one for the year. Keeping it positive which is pretty easy with what I'm buying. Let's go ahead and get started.

SENSATION COMICS FEATURING WONDER WOMAN #4
I like that these issues are one and done multiple stories. In this one there is a great Gilbert Hernandez story with Supergirl and Mary Marvel along for the ride. Then, we get a team up with The Atom and Hawkman and Hawkgirl ending with a really cool team up with Deadman. In a sea of multiple, interconnected, multi issue storylines, this is a breath of fresh air. I do find it funny that there are all these comics with covers that seem to be upsetting the feminists, but this issue gives us an Adam Hughes epic portrait of Wonder Woman and not a single word. I worry that they are going to end this comic soon and leave me back to a world a little less bright by its absence. I hope I'm wrong.

SENSATION COMICS FEATURING WONDER WOMAN  #5
And then the next issue because I hadn't been in a while. While I liked the story where Wonder Woman has to infiltrate Apokolips and save two Amazon warriors that have an agenda that sickens her once it is revealed, it was the whole issue! Gabriel Hardman's art was cool and different, but the whole issue? Also, why is Superman on the cover? He's not in the issue at all. He's not even mentioned in the issue. Seems tacky. Last issue I was worried they were going to cancel the book. Now, I'm worried it might become something I don't like. Here's to hoping that doesn't happen anytime soon.

TRINITY OF SIN #3
I just found out this book is only making it to issue 6. While that is a bummer I do hope it will give J.M. DeMatteis a chance to finish what is a wild and bizarre tale. Nimraa's ritual is nearly complete and a new world of darkness is being born from the powers of The Phantom Stranger, The Question and Pandora. I did think it was wild that whne Phantom Stranger realized that they were responsible for the new world he had no compunctions about killing himself to stop it from happening. This is a different Stranger and I like that he has passion in his voice and in his actions. And they can still reverse Nimraa's plan.
If there is time.
I read none of the entire Trinity of Sin story line involving Pandora and while I am wondering why The Question is wielding The Spear of Destiny, you can understand and follow the story with little effort and it is quite entertaining. DeMatteis is doing what he does best DC Supernatural. Add fantastic artwork by penciller Yvel Guichet and inker Jason Gorder and all we can hope for is that these three artists are allowed to create again. It will be magnificent.

GRINDHOUSE: SLAYRIDE PART TWO
I caught a preview of this and I am a fan of all things Grindhouse so I bought Part One. Well, I came to Part Two thinking this would be a much longer tale. It was interesting and needed to be longer. It felt thin and not in a goodn way like old, fast moving Grindhouse flicks. I want this to stay positive so I will mention R.M Guera's artwork did give it a gritty, film like quality. I do doubt that I will buy anything else in Dark Horse's Grindhouse imprint though. Sorry.

JOHN CARTER WARLORD OF MARS #2
I read all the books by Edgar Rice Burroughs. All the comics by Marvel. I even had The Barsoomian Battle Manual. The new movie was awesome and deserved better. You knew I was going to buy this, didn't you?
Barsoom is under attack by an alien force led by another man from Earth. A man who knows John Carter and will crush all of Mars under his heel to get at The Warlord of Mars. Ron Marz is melding the actual writings of Edgar Rice Burroughs with the comic books that Marvel produced back in the 70's. The artwork  by Abishek Malsuni heralds back to that time and he makes it his own in the process. Only two issues in and the book remains amazing with every panel.

AVENGERS WORLD #16
I bought the first few issues of this book and it just felt unwieldy. I do find it amazing that there is not an Avengers book on my buy list. A little sad as well. But, with the AXIS event where heroes become villains and visa versa the concept of Dr. Doom leading a band of Avengers was too good to resist. He needs them to complete a  heroic and needs the power of the now evil Scarlet Witch to complete it. The team? US Agent, Stingray, Valkyrie, Elsa Bloodstone, Phil Coulson, 3-D Man and Valeria Richards. This is the second of two issues and it plays like old school Avengers where a group of whoever was closest got together to fight a menace and get some results. It also corrects a wrong that has irritated me for years so I like that. With all of that being said, Stingray needs his own series. Yeah, you heard me. I said Stingray. Make it happen Marvel!

Okay, this has been pretty good. I kept it as positive as I could. Not a lot of negative just a learning curve when trying out new books. I may keep up with Avengers World after this. Not sure. It would be nice to have an Avengers book to read again.
Tune in in two weeks for more reviews kiddies. Tell your friends.

MERRY CHRISTMAS !!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS !!!

A New Direction For Penguin Comics

I have a couple of websites that I go to on a regular basis; Comics Alliance and Comic Book Resources. Of the two I like Comic Book Resources more. Comics Alliance just seems like the drama queen of comic book sites, but they both like to get that negative news out there.
That's not why I read comic books.
I have read them for five decades for entertainment and some of the best story telling in the world.
When I decided to do this blog it was for my friend, Larry Stanley, who passed away and his website fell by the wayside.
Larry loved comic books.
I think that from now on we will just focus on that. Sure, there are things that make me mad about comic books (Rick Remender, anyone?), but there are plenty of other sites that deal in that particular currency and we won't be doing that here.
Stick around, this is gonna be fun.

What is up with the mesh???

So, these guys;

Can someone explain the mesh fetish? This is three different companies with three different characters and they all have the same damned mesh fabric in their damned costumes. Are they afraid we are going to be bored with normal costumes? It's Spider-Man, Superman and The Vision for crying out loud! IF we're bored you did something horribly wrong!
Sheesh!
Why am I the one that always has to point this stupid stuff out?
Oooo! Maybe they all hired the same sucky design team who suck really bad?
Yeah, that's got to be it.
Any other reason would be terribly stupid.
Right?

Bi Weekly Comic Shop Trip

It's getting close to Christmas so I stayed away from the 50 cent bins and just got my regular books. Here's a rundown and a super short opinion of each;

AMAZING X-MEN #13 - After 12 issues of Heaven and Hell and Wendigos we get what is a fill in issue at best. And not a very good one. Oh well.

ARKHAM MANOR #2 - Wayne Manor is the new Arkham Asylum and someone is murdering the inmates. Batman is under cover as an inmate and it isn't helping. The art by Shawn Crystal is amazing.

RED LANTERNS #35 - Only because it is part of the GODHEAD storyline am I buying this for my oldest, Seann. Lanterns VS New Gods is kind of cool. Good to see that Guy Gardner hasn't changed.

TRINITY OF SIN #2 - Writer J.M. Dematteis doing what he does best with the supernatural realm of DC Comics. Being a huge Question fan I am loving this. NO idea who Pandora is and The Phantom Stranger seems different.

JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK #36 - After the events of JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK ANNUAL #2 the team is strewn across time and space. I never thought I would feel sorry for Felix Faust. Great book.

EDWARD SCISSORHANDS #2 - Continuing with the granddaughter of the film who is now a teenager, Edward has made his own creation and discovers that sometimes bestowing life can be...bad. I love the cartoony artwork and it is one of my favorite movies.

GODZILLA RULERS OF EARTH #18 - Godzilla, Ebirah, Megaguirius. Do these names mean anything to you? One of the greatest battles since the original Godzilla VS The Sea Monster. A great non movie way to get a regular fix of some classic Godzilla.

AVENGERS WORLD #15 - I tried this book at its inception and really did not care for it. Now that has changed since AXIS and Doctor Doom has assembled his own Avengers! Valkyrie, Stingray, 3D Man, US Agent, Elsa Bloodstone. Their mission? Stop a completely evil Scarlet Witch. Uh Oh.

CARNAGE #2 - I am not a Carnage fan. Could care less. Actually buy this for my daughter, Delia. Yeah the AXIS thingie has made Carnage a good guy, well at least as he can be a good guy. It's a fun read I'll give you that I just don't see how to sustain it for too long.

JUSTICE LEAGUE UNITED #6 - And this is for my youngest daughter, Dandelion. Only because she has a thing for The Legion of Super Heroes. The team is Martian Manhunter, Green Arrow, Supergirl, Animal Man, Stargirl, Allana Strange, Adam Strange, Equinox and Ultra The Multi Alien. Add in the Legion and this is a busy comic book. Still, looks like fun and I refer to it as Justice League Canada.

There ya go. See you in two weeks now go read some comics!

HAH!

To anyone that thought I was being over bitchy about the whole Captain America thing I give you this.

http://comicsalliance.com/black-captain-america-female-thor-race-gender-superhero-comics/

See, it's not just me and she did a much better job vocalizing my thoughts about this whole thing.

So..HAH!

Another classic Captain America tirade

I can remember when if you were a huge, monster, Captain America fan you read three books; Captain America, The Avengers and The Invaders. Once in a while there would be a miniseries or something else Captain America and you would pick that up. I have hundreds upon hundreds of issues of comic books with Captain America in them. I have the first ten issues hardbound in a slipcover. This has been my purchasing habit for decades. Decades. Can you imagine what it must be like for someone like me who goes to the comic shop regularly and doesn't buy any Avengers book, no Captain America book and no Invaders book? Devastating comes to mind as does sad. It's just sad that I have been forced to leave my favorite character behind when it comes to new adventures. I've said it before and I will say it again. Steve Rogers IS Captain America. Not because he's white. Not for any other reason than he is what embodies the true spirit of Captain America. It's not just a suit. It's Steve Rogers. And now, for the time being anyway, he is gone. And that sucks. I was going to put up a picture of some classic Kirby Captain America, but you know what? I just don't feel like it. And that might be the saddest thing of all. Fuck you Rick Remender. I blame you for all of this.

Bi-Weekly Comic Shop Trip

I g to Fanfare Comics every other week like clockwork. I always mean to write up reviews of what I bought, but never get around to it. I think a list will work and then I will have one find of the week. Sound good? Great! First up;

NEW COMICS

AMAZING X-MEN #12
GRINDHOUSE;SLAYRIDE #1
JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK ANNUAL #2
JOHN CARTER WARLORD OF MARS #1

FROM THE 50 CENT BIN

NECROSHA X #1
SECRET WARRIORS # 17-19
SHADE #1
JUSTICE LEAGUE 3000 #1 &2
BRAVE AND THE BOLD (NEW SERIES) #9, 27, 29
DRAMA #1
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN ANNUAL #27
MARVEL PREMIERE FEATURING DOMINIC FORTUNE #56

FINALLY, THE FIND OF THE WEEK (FROM THE 50 CENT BIN)



It looks in pretty good shape, nice and clean and bagged. A little crinkling near the staples and slight wear and tear, but it is a gorgeous cover and I got it for 50 cents.

Seeya in two weeks!

Keep Trying It Just Don't Matter

Next year Marvel and DC are both doing huge inter dimensional storylines that they say will affect their titles forever.
Or, a least until the next huge inter dimensional crossover event.
I have one thing to say.
You say that it negates all previous things that went before. DC did it with DC 52 and most of it sucked. Marvel has Marvel NOW! And, surprise, with very few exceptions, it sucked as well. And I am a card carrying Marvel Zombie.
Here's the thing; It can't be negated. Your new, fancy storylines have not affected my comic collection one whit. Those characters you say are no longer around. Yeah, I still have those comic books and having read them are lodged in my memory.
Happened for me so, it's still real.
Get it.
The thing that surprises me the most is that I read comics for decades before Crisis On Infinite Earths happened.
Same goes for Secret Wars.
I did think it funny that Marvel's huge event changed nothing more than the introduction of Venom...sort of. Plus, we all know that was a comic designed to do nothing but sell toys.
So, for decades, writers were talented enough to take what was given to them and crafted well done, exciting stories month after month. They didn't need to invent a new dimension to explain when something went...well, weird.
If they wanted to do that Marvel had What If? and DC had Elseworlds. Because sometimes it's fun to mess with the natural order of what has gone before.
Now all the big two do is huge event after huge event.
I know I used to read The Avengers. Now, with the seventy-five monthly Avengers books out there I don't read one of them since Avengers A.I. got cancelled.
From the big two I read the following on a monthly basis;
MARVEL
The Amazing X-Men

yeah, that's it. And remember I am a huge Captain America fan. There is nothing for me there. One comic and that's it. I read Nightcrawler for a minute, but it got stale and they cancelled Superior Foes of Spider Man. I am considering The Spider-Verse, but will probably pass. Secret Wars looks interesing, but only because I saw Doctor Zero in the artwork.

DC
Justice League Dark
Sensation Comics
Trinity of Sin

Always a huge fan of J.M.DeMatteis I love what he has done with Justice League Dark by primarily ignoring the whole DC 52 thing. And Sensation Comics proves that you can do one and done stories and it sells comics. I did pick up the first issue of Arkham Manor and like how that went. Trinity of Sin has The Question, my favorite.

I buy more independent comics than mainstream.

Godzilla, Rulers of the Earth
Justice Inc.
Little Nemo In Slumberland
John Carter Warlord of Mars

Personally, I have a better time reading back issues back when writers knew how to write and things were awesome.

Convergence will not be for me, but Secret Wars might.

I'm really hoping for a Doctor Zero action figure.

The All New Captain America...What an insult!

Normally, I would just shout about what a stupid idea this is and how Steve Rogers is the one, true Captain America. How many people have tried to fill his shoes and have failed miserably. But, this time, I've got another thing I need to vent about.
First, some facts;
Falcon was introduced as a hero 45 years ago. Since that time he has been an Avenger, a Defender and long time partner and friend of the one, true Captain America (Okay, there might be a little venting.) This is a hero that has faced deadly foes in groups and individually with two things going for him; He can fly and communicate with birds. He has held his own next to living legends, gods and goddesses and is still above ground.
What I'm trying to say here is that The Falcon has proven himself a true hero time and time again. Now, that's not good enough? He has to assume the mantle of someone else? Forty-five years of busting his chops and making his character unique. The Falcon is the first African-American character ever introduced by Marvel. That is important and stands for something. Now he has to throw away four and a half decades of that for this?
What a crock! I think, if I were a person of color, a comic book reader for decades and they told one of my favorite characters he had to be someone else I would be offended. Hell, I'm offended anyway. The Falcon has proved himself time and time again. He doesn't need to be Captain America.
He's The Falcon.
And that is awesome.

Got me, Doonesbury.

Thanks to Go Comics online I have been catching up on many strips including a huge run of Doonesbury. I plan on a blog post discussing this when I'm up to date.
In the meantime, this choked me up;

ALL NEW CAPTAIN STUPID AS HELL!!

This is dumb.
And before you spout off all the reasons I shouldn't say a damn thing let me put it this way.
Steve Rogers is Captain America.
Period.
I don't hate it because he's black.
He's not Steve Rogers.
Steve Rogers IS Captain America.
And remember, vote to have Rick Remender fired as quickly as possible.
He is a terrible story teller.
Thus endeth the lesson.

NEW SECRET WARS? YES PLEASE!

 

I always loved the original Secret Wars. The second one...not so much. My favorite thing from the original was all the cool toys. Now we get this and who do I spy between the wings of fake Captain America? Doctor Zero from Marvel's Shadowline Saga. Doctor Zero was my favorite of that series of comics and the off chance that he'll be brought back into the fold and there could well be a actin figure?
YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So Very Much!

Bathe in the glory of the Alex Ross masterpiece above and revel in the fact that new, cool toys are on their way.


Again...YYYYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Captain Stupid Idea and The Mighty Whatevers

Here's the cover to that abomination hitting comic book stores soon. Not sure when, don't care. If you go to Comic Book Resources they have three unlettered pages as a preview. It shows Falcon/Crap throwing the shield like Steve Rogers would have.
Bleh!
I really can't wait until the new Avengers movie comes out and they are forced to put everything back to normal.
So. Incredibly. Stupid.

GOODBYE COMIC ALLIANCE

Yeah, sometimes, like now, I have some free time at  work. I read some different websites from time to time. The two comic sites I read are Comics Alliance and Comic Book Resources. Comic Book Resources gives me lots previews of new comics to check out ans some interesting, thought provoking blogs.
Comics Alliance complains about the misogyny inherent in the comics industry in one column and then acres of sexy cosplay photos in the next. They just don't seem to like anything at all. I have finally decided that I will have to have to stop reading the site.
They just come across as whiny and confrontational all the time.
I'd rather just read about cool new comics and stuff that I like.
Seeya Comics Alliance!

The SpiderWoman/Milo Manara Debacle

See the picture? That is done by a famous ARTIST named Milo Manara. Milo Manara primarily does EROTIC ART. Why Marvel Comics had him do a cover of Spider Woman is beyond me, but she has always been a sex symbol at Marvel.
Now some people, and I use the term loosely, have decided to get their politically correct panties in a bunch over this. A problem Spider Woman would never have because, as you can see in the picture above, there is no way in Hell she is wearing any panties in that get up.
I made the mistake of reading the comments that came with this article about the panty bunching and realized that these people have two problems;
One, they are trying to dictate art. Andy Warhol stated that art is whatever you can get away with. Marvel asked Milo Manara to do this cover. They paid him. He got away with it. If you don't like it, don;t buy it. Kind of like how television and radio have on and off switches only this time it's just focusing your eyes elsewhere. And if you are unable to do that, you might have bigger problems than a picture of Spider Woman by a famed EROTIC ARTIST.
The other problem I saw is that most of these complaints come from people that don't read comic books. They complained that the costume was unrealistic, that there were no visible seams, that her vagina was splayed for the world to see.
You complain about that, but don't bring up the impossibility of a woman having super powers.
Um, that's just dumb.
Milo Manara is a revered, award winning artists. He is very good at drawing what he draws and he was asked to do this. Leave him alone and just direct your ill advised, politically incompetent bile at the man in the mouse ears running the show.
Sheesh!
And my opinion on the piece of ART?
Nice ass Spider Woman.
Nice. Ass.

Avengers...Now???

So, this picture surfaced the other day concerning Marvel screwing up some of my favorite characters. Okay, really just Captain America, but still…ruined. Anyway, I wanted to put my two cents in and get this off my chest. I’m starting in the left hand upper row and working my way across and then down to the second row. I’ll put names to faces to make it less confusing.

MEDUSA – So, she doesn’t cover her face anymore, but we made sure to get some jewelry on her lady parts in the nether regions? Maybe it’s to make sure that Black Bolt doesn’t shred her when they are getting busy? One little moan from the leader of the Inhumans and her vageen is liquefied.

SCARLET WITCH – Classic look. She seems thinner. Did she lose weight for some reason?

IRON MAN – Where is the red and gold? Did Tony Stark use all of his paint allowance on fancy sports cars again? Now he looked like an armored Silver Surfer.

DOCTOR STRANGE –The form fitting costume looks a little sixties. He’s the Sorcerer Supreme not an opening act for Burt Wonderstone. Give me a break. Also, he appears thinner as well. Does magic make you skinny? Like Atkins?

ANT-MAN  - That helmet is stupid. Also, which of the seventy five incarnations of Ant-Man is this one? Hank Pym? Scott Lang? Paul Rudd?
WINTER SOLDIER – Winter Soldier is cool.

ANGELA  - What is this Red Sonja rip off from Spawn doing here? At least she’s not Thor’s sister or something dumb. What’s that? Oh nooooo…

THOR – Apparently Thor found out he had a sister and got mad jealous about the boobs. So, now he’s got boobs. Also, and this is just a guess…lady parts.

CAPTAIN AMERICA – Steve Rogers is Captain America. They have pulled this stunt before. They will do it again. Sam Wilson’s days are numbered and he don’t even know it. At least they let him keep the wings. It will be funny the first time he has to throw the shield and then spends an hour looking for it.

INFERNO – I wondered why The Human Torch was running around in some rags, but I guess this is someone else. I have no idea who this is. But, we already have a guy that can burst into flame. A few of them actually, so this guy should just go see if DC Comics can use him.

DEATHLOK – I always liked the design of Deathlok. This is just a copy from the show Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. It works on TV. Not in comics. In comics it looks dumb.

There you go, my two cents. Take it, leave it, I do not care. I am appreciative of Marvel making so many stupid changes. I am saving a bundle on comic books I no longer have to buy.

Another Captain America Rant

This Captain America is better than what Marvel has planned.

There are those of us that are what I like to call, long term fans. We read comic books before there were comic book stores. We went to the local grocer and went through the spinner rack anytime we had more than a quarter to spend. I was lucky in that both of my parents are big readers so they figured reading anything is a good thing.

There are comic book characters I have more affinity for than others. The Fantastic Four, The Avengers, Spider Man and especially, Captain America. OF all of them, he is my favorite. A man who wanted nothing more than to be a good soldier and fight against the bullies of the world. And Captain America, while being a symbol is Steve Rogers. It is the mindset of that single individual that makes Captain America the symbol that he is. People argue that the suit is the symbol regardless of who wears it and, while that is true, if it hadn’t been for Steve Rogers, there would be no symbol.

Last time I wrote that writer Rick Remender should be removed from the current incarnation of Captain America comics. In my opinion, he has ruined the entire character of Captain America in a very short period of time. He has removed the super soldier formula that makes Captain America the hero that he is. Steve Rogers has been reduced to a very old man.

This has been done before. Cap has been depowered. Cap has become disillusioned with America. Cap gets murdered. All been done before and then they replace him with someone else. John Walker, Bucky Barnes, The Falcon.

Waitaminit!

Did you say, The Falcon.

Yes, apparently there will be a new comic, also by Remender, where The Falcon takes up the mantle of Captain America and old man Steve Rogers helps him on his adventures.

This is, without a doubt, the worst idea for Captain America I have ever had. The Falcon is a hero in his own right. I have always been a fan of Sam Wilson, unless Remender is writing him. Then it’s just wrong. Sam getting drunk and getting his freak on with Jet Black. Yeah, not my Falcon.

Why would he agree to do this? I know he would do it if Steve asked, but it just seems wrong. Apparently, there will be a new book for this so Marvel can slap another oversized #1 on the cover of a book.

Luckily,  IDW still makes Godzilla comics. Fortunately, DC has the incredible J.M. DeMatteis continues to thrill me with Justice League Dark and, in the land of Marvel, there are things like Amazing X-Men, Spider-Man 2099 and a few others that I still read. Once a Marvel Zombie always a Marvel Zombie.

Still, it saddens me when I go to the comic shop and there isn’t an Avengers comic or a Captain America comic in my things I grab for the week. See, I’m old fashioned and don’t do pull lists. I like thumbing through the comics and grabbing what I see that catches my eye.

Keeps me young. Like Steve Rogers before Rick Remender fucked it all up.

On a side note, I mentioned writing this article and my wife exploded. She was furious about the whole thing. To be fair they did turn Thor into a woman the day before and she hated that. I thought it was sweet that she had the same opinion about Captain America as I did.

I knew marrying her was going to be awesome!

FIRE RICK REMENDER!

This was the war cry recently due to what people thought was statutory rape by a drunken Sam Wilson a.k.a. The Falcon in a recent issue of Captain America. This, of course, turned out to be a misconception and not true so, that reason for firing Rick Remender is unsubstantiated.

Let me give you the real reasons for firing Rick Remender. There are more than a few.

I had recently gotten back into buying monthly comics again. It had been many years and I decided since my daughters both liked comic books we would make a biweekly trek to the local comic book store. The girls and I would ransack the quarter bin and then pick out some monthly titles. One liked My Little Pony and the other was a huge Daredevil fan. I saw that a new Captain America title was starting up and then, because of The Avengers film there were about fifty eight Avengers titles. I went with Uncanny Avengers because Captain America was in it. It looked like fun.

These are both written by Rick Remender.

At first I liked both titles.  Captain America in Dimension Z reminded me of the old Jack Kirby days. It was cool. The Uncanny Avengers with its meld of Avengers and X-Men was cool.

Then a few issues went by.

Captain America was still in Dimension Z. Didn’t he have a new movie coming out soon? Wasn’t it getting tiresome? Yeah, it was. And then when he did leave Remender killed Sharon Carter (Again???) and the kid that Cap had raised for years. And, since it was a pocket dimension no time had passed in the Marvel Universe. Another aspect was just the amount of torture Captain America was put through in each issue. Beaten, stabbed, brutalized issue after issue. It became numbing and I just dropped the title. I wanted nothing to do with Cap’s return to the real world, or at the very least, Marvel Universe. This was not my Captain America.

Uncanny Avengers wasn’t faring much better. It seems that Mr. Remender is only capable of long form, event stories. Sometimes those are fun. All the time, they are not.  And, after I dropped the title he apparently slaughtered a bunch of super heroes. It’s Marvel, they make a lot of money off of their heroes. We know that none of these deaths are permanent. If Frank Miller couldn’t keep Elektra dead, Rick Remender sure isn’t going to keep any of the Avengers six feet under.

I traded up for the infinitely better Avengers A.I. Of course, they cancelled that titles and I did buy The Uncanny Avengers Annual, but that was terrible. I got excited when I saw Man-Thing on the cover. Yeah, why did I think Remender would know how to write Man-Thing? Beats me.

 And the new twist in Captain America is that they sucked the super soldier formula out of him and he’s an old man. Yeah, this has been done. Steve Rogers still needs to be Captain America for two more Avengers movies and one more solo film. Do you think the money men at Disney are going to let this stick? If you don’t know how to realistically tell stories within the context of someone else’s sandbox, maybe you should go find something else to do. I hear Remender has an independent book of his own. Maybe he could do that instead of ruining characters that I have decades of history with. Writers and artists have managed to tell stories about Captain America that are funny, smart, exciting and done in one that don’t feel the necessity to shake things up.

So, fire Rick Remender? Absolutely, but not for some stupid, trumped up internet frenzy. Do it because he is terrible at his job.

FREE COMIC BOOK DAY!!

So, another Free Comic Book Day has come and gone. My youngest daughter, Dandelion and I got up early, walked to the bus stop and managed to get to the front of the store by 7:30. Figuring we would be first we rounded the corner to Fanfare…

And there was the tent. A tent! We had never encountered a tent in the years of going to Free Comic Book Day. It wasn’t so bad. We got some coffee and breakfast sandwiches from the local gas station. My buddy Stew Miller showed up and later we spotted by son, Seann with my daughter in law, Tabbie and my grandson Willie. Neil Bryer also showed up and we all just hung out while the staff trickled into the building.

Then it was time to go in and get our comics. I had some I knew I needed and others I just was going to peruse. Here are the comics I got and what I think of them.

Future’s End #0 (DC Comics)

Written by Brian Azzarello, Jeff Lemire, Keith Giffen, & Dan Jurgens

Art by Aaron Lopresti, Patrick Zircher, Jesus Merino & Dan Jugens

DC’s new event comic is a weekly comic that will run for a little less than a year. It starts 35 years in the future when Brother Eye is destroying mankind and only Batman Beyond, yeah from the cartoon, can travel back in time to save us all.

One problem;

He shows up five years too late and still has to get the job done.

The major players in this comic are Frankenstein, Batman Beyond and OMAC. I like two out of three of those so I was excited to get this zero issue that starts the whole thing off.

Then I read it.

Yeah, I didn’t like when Marvel did Age of Ultron and that’s all this really is only stretched out into a weekly series. I’m not paying over a hundred and fifty bucks for a story that was tired before it began.  At least Age of Ultron only ran for a few issues before it was over and didn’t matter. When will comic companies realize that the whole go back in time to stop the future storyline has been done…repeatedly?  At least I got the first issue for free so there was no wasted money.

Shigeru Mizuki’s Showa A History of Japan

Told in Manga style this is the author’s autobiographical tale of being in the Japanese army. It’s interesting in that the author draws himself very cartoony, but there is some seriously photo realistic artwork in here as well. I would read this entire series. Maybe since I’m saving so much money on DC Future’s End I can get this instead.

Red Giant’s Duel Identity/Pandora’s Blog

This is one of those flip books that is so popular during Free Comic Book Day. Duel Identity deals with a super heroine with nano technology who also works undercover assassinating who she’s told to. Kinda weird behavior for a supposed super heroine. Pandora’s Blog is, well I have no idea what this is supposed to be about. Some sick kid who turns into a stone gargoyle at the end. IS this a horror comic or what? It seems rushed and confused.

I personally, have never heard of Red Giant comics, but if this is what they have to offer I doubt I will be making a return trip. Also, the books are smaller than normal and that seems weird to me.

Archaia Presents Mouse Guard

This little hardcover book is the reason I make sure that I am first, or because of the damned tent, second every year for Free Comic Book Day. That’s right, it is a hardcover comic book and it has little stories from all of the titles that Archaia prints.

They are;

Mouse Guard by David Petersen

Rust by Royden Lepp

Labyrinth Written by Adam Smith and Illustrated by Kyla Vanderklugt

Bolivar by Sean Rubin

Will O The Wisp Written by Tom Hammock Illustrated by Megan Hutchinson

Farscape by Ramon K Perez

Of the batch the Mouse Guard story, Tale of the Axe Trio is the best with a close second of a tale of Ludo in the Labyrinth story. Rust, which I have read seems like it brings nothing to the table regardless of how pretty it is. The entire book is gorgeous and deserves a place on any book shelf. I hope they make these every year.

They also gave us cool Space Marine figures from Warhammer 40K which I have assembled and they have taken up space on my desk at work. Very cool.

There were also some temporary tattoos that I will keep and a sticker that now lives on the backside of my laptop.

Now, not being a leech I also use that day to pick up some of the new comics I always get. I have discovered that if my oldest daughter, Delia and my lovely wife, Martha are going to be fans of Moon Knight and Silver Surfer that I will have to start having a pull list for them. Luckily, my comics are always on the rack so let’s review those shall we?

All New Invaders #3 & 4

Written by James Robinson

Illustrated by Steve Pugh

This is classic Invaders in the here and now. Captain America, The original Human Torch and Sub Mariner. They throw in Winter Soldier because he used to be Bucky and they have a severe Kree problem. See there’s this device called The God’s Whisper that allows a person to control Gods. The Invaders took it away from the Nazis back in World War 2 and now the Kree have it. The Supreme Intelligence has plans for dominating the universe and will stop at nothing. To get to Hala, the Kree homeworld, they employ the teleportation powers of Aarkus, the original Vision to get them there.

This is wonderful storytelling at its finest. I have been led to understand that Mr. Robinson does a great job with comics, Starman is the one that most people bring up. I honestly haven’t read those and have no desire to, but if it’s good enough for everyone else then I’m glad he’s taking the time to craft a well done tale with one of my favorite super hero teams. I’m glad to see one of my favorite teams getting the respect they deserve in the modern age of Marvel. Also, the covers by artist Mukesh Singh are all poster worthy. It makes me happy that one team book is going the way that I want it to.

Uncanny Avengers Annual #1

I know, I know. I said I quit buying this book and that is a true statement. Annuals rarely, if ever, have anything to do with a running storyline and this annual is no exception. Besides, The Arthur Adams cover alone is worth the five bucks and it’s got Man-Thing in it.

Man-Thing.

Unfortunately, it seems that the book deals with Mojo, who usually bothers the X-Men. Being that the Uncanny team has a lot of mutants in its roster that makes perfect sense, but I don’t like Mojo. Never have. He is pitching a new show to the people in charge called The Supernatural Avengers with Marvel’s line up of supernatural characters.

Sounds cool.

Then it spins off into some high school TV drama and it gets stupid.

Ah well, at least I have that really cool cover. I can bag the comic and hang it on the wall. That would be cool.

I am so glad I stopped buying this book.

Avengers A.I. #12

This is my sad review of the column. I was so excited to see this book on the shelf as it is my favorite Avengers comic being created right now.

The cover said Finale.

I hope that it was the finale to the current storyline and it was, but it was more than that.

It is the last issue of this series and that makes me sad.

No more Doombot? I love Doombot, how can they take him away from me like that? I do hope that the members of the team become incorporated elsewhere. I would buy that book.

The story? Yeah, they win. The Avengers always win no matter what and it wraps it up pretty cool and weird, just like the book has always done.

This sucks.

That’s it for Free Comic Book Day. The good, the bad, the suck. All wrapped up in a pretty bow.

In two weeks I will be attending Motor City Comic Con so I will file a report shortly after that. With pictures.

Seeya! 

Marvel Super Hero Smashers

Anyone who knows me knows that I am a huge Captain America fan. Luckily, I am able to put toys on my desk at work so there are an unnatural amount of Captain America toys populating my desk. There is also a small army of BeMos from Adventure Time, but that’s another story.

When I heard that Marvel was doing a series of action figures where you can swap out body parts I was intrigued. When I saw the Captain America figure for nine bucks at a grocery trip to Aldi’s I took the plunge.

This is a pretty stocky action figure. I think it may have been designed with the younger crowd in mind. The musculature is stocky and exaggerated, you know, like if Bart Sears had drawn the plan for the figure. It has eleven points of articulation, which isn’t a lot, but then most figures don’t allow you to pop off various limbs and add extremities from the likes of The Hulk, Dr. Doom and Spider-Man. That is pretty cool. And, yes, you can pop the head off.

To be honest, I might pick up The Falcon figure because it goes with Captain America, but I can’t see myself investing in the entire line of figures. It would mess up my desk theme for one. Maybe if they introduce more villains. I could use a Red Skull Masher. You hear me Marvel?

My only complaint would be the injection points for the arms and legs seem a little rough and sloppy.  You can see there wasn’t much care in making these, but what can you expect from a combination of Hasbro, Marvel and China?

Other than that, he makes a worthy addition to my desk collection. He’s a pretty sturdy action figure regardless of the injection points flaw.

COMICS I READ, THE EASTER SUNDAY EDITION!

I actually picked these up on Friday, but the weekend is busy and this is the first time I got to these. It has been a couple of weeks, but when things like Cinema Wasteland rear their head then you miss the comic book shop for a  pay period. What can I say?
Ready?
Good.

GODZILLA RULERS OF THE EARTH #10



This whole issue deals with the humans trying to relocate all the kaiju to an island paradise and Godzilla fighting those twin terrors from War of the Gargantuas, Gaira and Sanda. It'sa good, solid issue, but never being a huge Gargantuas fan I really could care less. But, if it were up to me, Gigan would be in every issue, so there ya go. I hope that the release next month of the new Godzilla film creates enough in terest to keep this book around. Rumor has it that we are done at issue 12 and that would suck. One complaint, no letters page? One of my favorite things about the book is the sense of community that the letters page brings to it. Oh well, maybe next issue.

NIGHTCRAWLER #1





Nightcrawler has always been one of my favorite X-Men. I did not stick around much past the late 80's early 90's with X books though so I really had no idea that he was dead. I have been reading Amazing X-Men so I am filled in on that there. (See below for reviews of the two recent issues)
So, Nightcrawler is back along with the little blue thingies that everyone refers to as Bamfs. Wolverine still has no healing factor and Nightcrawler is helping to test his new body armor. That goes well until Wolverine has a hissy fit and pops his claws, making himself bleed.
Then Nightcrawler goes to visit his sorceress girlfriend, Amanda and some weird dude in high tech armor tries to capture him. Yeah, he fails.
As number one issues go, it sets up things and that's about it. The artwork is great, the writing is pure Claremont. It's a good thing. It is also too soon to judge where this book is going, so we will just leave it at that.

AVENGERS A.I. #11



Hard to believe that it's been almost a year on this book. This was my replacement book when Uncanny Avengers started to suck.
I'm glad I've been here for this story, it is magnificent.
See, there is this villain A.I. who is trying to destroy all humanity. He dresses up like Iron Man, but he's a huge tool. Alexis, the A.I. who remembers none of her past is catapulted 10,000 years into the future where she learns that Dimitrios has succeeded and humanity is extinct. If that wasn't enough, Dimitrios is going to use Galactus and something called The Golden Knot to go past our universe and have words with our creator.
This will destroy existence in the process, but, well did I mention that Dimitrios was insane?
Well, now you know.
So, Alexis has to go back and convince her team that they have to save an outdated LMD (Life Model Decoy) named Jessie Clatterbuck because she holds the key to our extinction.
She is currently in the hands of S.H.E.I.L.D. and they have no idea what they are playing with.
This is my favorite Marvel book out right now.
The writing by Sam Humphries is always smart and the art by Andre Lima Araujo is just so gorgeous. It feels like a Heavy Metal story, but in the Marvel Universe. I have every issue and I will still probably buy the collected edition of this because it is so good and I convince other people to read it if I have it all under one book. If you are looking for an Avengers book that is unlike anything that Marvel has ever puit out then this is the one you need to get.
You will not be sorry.
Also, there is a one panel cameo by Devil Dinosaur and we all know how much I loves me some Devil Dinosaur.

AMAZING X-MEN #5 & 6





I'm going to deal with these two books at the same time because they deal with the end of the first arc of the series and the beginning of the second arc. Also, I bought them at the same time so it seemed fitting. (You'll see me doing the same thing with Superior Foes of Spider-Man after this so it will be like a theme. Or a thingie, not sure which.)

In issue 5 Kurt comes head to head with his father Azazel to show him who's boss. He triggers a deal with the Bamfs so that they can keep Azazel bound to Earth where he can do the least amount of harm. This is a good ending to the first arc that brings us back the fuzzy elf we all know and love. Sure, he seems a little broody at times, but apparently he paid a high price to come back. Yes, I know what that is and no, I'm not telling. Read the book already. It is one of the better ones coming out of Marvel right now and I think I'm saying that because I'm old and it reminds me of the X-Men books from the 80's.

Issue 6 deals with the welcome home party with every mutant on the planet showing up to see Kurt. Unfortunately, that means that his mother, Mystique is also there. It seems she has a bone to pick with Azazel and will stop at nothing to get at him. Kurt fails in capturing either of them and it seems that his parents have something brewing that can only spell trouble for Kurt.
This issue underlines the love that Nightcrawler and Wolverine have for one another in a purely platonic way and it makes me warm and fuzzy to see them reunited after so many years. I know how I complain anbout the temporary state of death in the Marvel Universe, but it's Nightcrawler for crying out loud!! Nightcrawler!! He's one of my favorites and I'm glad that he's back.  

SUPERIOR FOES OF SPIDER-MAN #10 & 11






I'm going to go ahead and deal with both of these issues at the same time. They both feel like fill in issues to me. Issue 10 has some separate tales of Overdrive, Speed Demon and The Beetle drawn by guest artists and just feels like they are spinning their wheels. Where is Boomerang? How can you focus so much on this character and then forsake him for two issues? The worst page would be the next issue splash page that has the gang wearing or using other villains gear and then issue 11 comes out.
It deals with The Looter and The Grizzly getting their clocks cleaned by the Doc Ock version of Spider-Man. What does this have to do with anything we have been doing for the last ten issues. Hell, at least issue 10 had some of the main characters in it. This can't manage that even though it's the good art team for the book. I am going to go ahead and try one more issue, but this might be the end of my run on this book. Too bad, it was good while it lasted. Except for these last two issues.

There you go, the Easter edition of this ratty little column. In the end just remember Godzilla, Rulers of the Earth and Avengers A.I. are the go to books. The rest seems hit or miss.

  

Avengers A.I. #10

The world is in chaos because of an app called Gascheck. Dmitrios has something up his sleeve involving an older model of LMD (Life Model Decoy).
Has it almost been a year already? This is my favorite Avengers comic out there right now. The team is well written and you get such variety. From The Vision with his cold calculating manner tinged with humanity to Doombot who is hilarious with everything he says.
But this is why I read this comic.
Warning! Potential Spoilers Ahead!

When they find the Gascheck app it is horrified that it is helping to destroy humans. It sees the only solution as self lobotomizing. Hank Pym asks what he can do and the app just asks him to stay with him until it is done. It was noble, self sacrificing and heart wrenching.
This is great writing and anyone not onboard with this comic needs to start now. It shows humanity at its best and worst.

Well done people.

NEW COMIC BOOK ROUNDUP 1/28/14

Because of many things I haven't managed to get to the comic shop for a while. This time around I am trying out some new stuff and getting caught up on old. Let's get started, shall we?

 ALL NEW INVADERS #1

When I was younger I loved The Invaders comic. World War 2 comics are always pretty cool and this was new adventures in that time period. Well, Marvel has brought the title into modern times and started it off with a bang. A Kree warrior, Tanalth, The Pursuer is after Jim Hammond a.k.a. The Human Torch. The first, android version of the character. He's got himself a place in a small, Midwestern town and then Tanalth comes down with murder on her mind.
This is a good first issue. Steve Pugh's art makes it look so bright and sunny and, well Midwestern. It works and the bizarre battle in the midst of it looks as foreign as it's supposed to. we get a brief appearance from Captain American, Bucky Barnes and Sub Mariner before the issue is over so I am excited to see where we go from here.

AVENGERS WORLD #1

The premise is that The Avengers should handle things more on a worldwide front. Natural disasters, monomaniacal madmen...A.I.M., you know...stuff. The first issue deals with things going on in multiple locations with multiple teams to deal with the situations.
I have to say I like this comic. Captain America is in charge and assigning teams to different places with their strengths. There are an awful lot of X-Men along for the ride, but I was used to that with Uncanny Avengers, which is a title I dropped in favor of this one. I was not aware that Marvel's defunct New Universe has bled over to this reality with Nightmask and Starbrand, but why not? As I understand it, there will be issues focusing on individuals within the teams so this could be pretty cool. A well done first issue that didn;t feel cramped with so many Avengers on board.

AVENGERS WORLD #2

This issue continues on A.I.M. Island. Smasher, who I know nothing about is doing her best to break out of her prison cell. But, A.I.M. has other ideas. They want her to deliver their message to the world with the help of The Entropic Man. The Entropic Man? Really? They are breaking out old characters left and right for this series and I like that. People you haven't seen in decades? That is kind of cool.
Here is the thing that bothers me with this issue. Smasher is a woman, no, that's not it. She is covered practically head to toe with just the bottom half of her face revealed. The costume is form fitting so she might as well be naked and Stefano Caselli, the artist of the book, seems fascinated with her pubic bone. That thing is pronounced in every full length shot she is in. Even when it is from her backside. Five different times in the book seems like a little much to me.
Other than that I think I made the right choice with this book and am glad to have selected it over The Uncanny Avengers.

GEORGE A. ROMERO EMPIRE OF THE DEAD #1

Yessss! Since Hollywood is stupid and doesn't give the Godfather of The Walking Dead any money to make good movies, then this is the next best thing. The art by Alex Maleev makes you feel like you're in a Romero movie so, kudos.
But, how is the story? It's Romero, it's zombies, it gives us a nod to Dawn of the Dead in a single sentence and then Romero does that thing that he does so well. He ties it to Night of the Living Dead and your jaw drops. Seriously, you are not ready for this bombshell and it works so well.
The weak link? Vampires. I don't think I care about the vampires so much. We'll see.

AVENGERS A.I.# 6

In this issue the team is at a crossroads. Victor is thought dead, but just deep in the A.I. universe known as The Diamond. Hank Pym is calling himself bipolar and Dimitrios, the engineer of all of this thinks he has the upper hand when he draws The Vision once more into his reality, but The Vision has something up his sleeve and Dimitrios had better be good at video games.
Lots of video games.
Avengers A.I. deals with discrimination to the nth degree. It's not color of skin or beliefs, but human against non human. It isn't us so it's alright to hate. Right? Let me illustrate the wrong there with a scene from the beginning of this issue. Monica Hill, director of S.H.I.E.L.D AND Monica Chang are on a bench watching an old man feeding birds. It seems that he is an old class of Life Model Decoy. He escaped from A.I.M. many years ago and lives a quiet life feeding the birds. Hill has him executed as a hostile A.I.
This made me sick.
We made them. They are our responsibility and now we cut them down on the off chance that someone may control them in the future.
Like I said before...made me sick.
Avengers A.I. is probably the smartest book on the shelves today. It makes you think and we get The Vision. I call that a win-win situation.

AVENGERS A.I. #7

This is a INHUMANITY tie in. I read none of that, but apparently, Black Bolt took out the flying city of Attilian and it landed in New York City. The terrigen mists are released and if you have even the slightest hint of inhuman in you you are going to change.
Ant Man and Doombot are on recon mission to retrieve the technology from the fallen city before it gets into the wrong hands. They cross the path of Daredevil who, at first, thinks that it is Doctor Doom, who he has no love for, but Ant Man explains the situation. Daredevil is looking for a woman named Doris.
The terrigen mists found her first and turned her into a monster of cthulu like appearance. They manage to subdue her in a scene with Doombot that may have made him my favorite character in this book.
This was a tie in issue so, not a lot of advancing storyline, but it gave Doombot a moment to shine so, that's a good thing.

AVENGERS A.I. #8

GasCheck is the most popular app to have on your smart phone. It helps you locate the cheapest gas available in your area. Oh, and it was created by Dimitrios who uses it to turn humans into mindless, savage killers. Now the A.I. Team along with Rogue and Captain America go into The Diamond to face Dimitrios once and for all to save mankind from the worst possible A.I. scenario imaginable. Victor and Alexis are already in The Diamond so they are covered for everything.
Right?
This issue brings up the government legislating Doctrine 47. It makes hunting down and deleting any a.i. completely legal. So, even if the A.I. team survives The Diamond, what will there be to come back to?
This is the issue that is the ember for the fire. With the introduction of a law that makes it alright to kill anyone different from us, write Sam Humphries is saying a lot about the way that people treat one another. This is the issue to hop on if you have been waffling about the series. This is where it is all going to get fierce and I can't wait to see what happens next.

KINGS WATCH # 3

A madman with the name Cobra is looking for a quantum crystal to open the King's Watch, a gateway to some place...unspeakable. The only hope for humanity is The Phantom, Flash Gordon and Mandrake The Magician.
King's Watch is high pulp adventure that reminds me of the old cartoon Defenders Of The Earth with a gritty edge to it. My only complaint is that they have The Phantom as some unshaved muscle. I always saw him as more elegant than that. Is there a reason for the stubble? Flash and Mandrake seem to remain clean shaven. I realize it's a small beef, but it just sticks there and irritates me.
Other than that, the book is awesome and next issue...Ming The Merciless!
Yes!