MY LOVE AFFAIR WITH COMIC BOOKS Chapter 9

I think I like this weekly column. There aren't as many books. Heck, with some of the books it will get smaller, but there are new books coming out that I am interested in. This column alone has one book that it's the last book and one that has about three issues left before it's gone. While my wallet might be happy, my reading time is taking a wicked hit.
Anyway, ready? Good here we go!

THE AVENGERS 5.1

This was a neat little series. It fills in the time frame from when the original roster of Avengers quit to be replaced by Cap and his Kooky Quartet. It also introduces us to a villain who can absorb the life force of anyone. If the person she is absorbing has super powers then she gets those as well. In her final blow she takes out the Avengers only to be attacked by the original roster back to save their friends or avenge the dead if need be. This was a cool idea. It feels like an old school Marvel book and gives us some background into historical events within the Marvel Universe. I think this would work well on a lot of the other books that Marvel puts out. And with this issue it is done and it leads right into The Avengers #17. The actual, original Avengers book. Good stuff.

JEM AND THE HOLOGRAMS #24

Here we are with the final story arc. We knew for a while that the book was going to end with #27, but this sort of sucks. I haven't missed an issue of the book. Even when the artwork was less than stellar I stuck with it. Now, in the final story arc Jerrica realizes that she must find a way to make Jem and Jerrica the same person. It is time to stop hiding behind the fabrications of Synergy and become the new and improved Jem. Of course this is taking place in Hawaii and The Stingers are already there and pretty mad that Jem has taken their drummer from them. With Stormer from the Misfits in the group can her reality show be that far behind? This is a fun book and the new artist, Gisele Lagace is fabulous.

DOCTOR WHO #11

The Doctor is captured by the Hesguard Institute in the 53rd century. He is locked up for his violent tendencies. They have a way to drain a person of their bad stuff and funnel it into these blank humanoids that contain all of the bad leaving the person as good. Rose tries to get The Doctor free, but they have already completed the process and now, because The Doctor is something they have never dealt with before, his repository for hate and anger has broken loose and is on a rampage. This would have made a great episode in the original series. I realize that Eccelston didn't want to do a second season, but he would have done great.

HOOKJAW #4

The pirates have captured the environmentalists and are feeding them to the sharks. Hookjaw knows who needs to die, but isn't above eating any other human that crosses her path. This is probably the most gruesome of the series so far, but it will be interesting to se what happens when the military nut gets to play with a bunch of explosives next issue. In the land of comic books, Hookjaw is the most intense and bizarre book out there. Who knew a shark could carry a book? Hookjaw knew.

INFAMOUS IRON MAN #6

Doom is after The Wizard while his mother and Reed Richards plot behind the scenes to destroy Doom once and for all. Throw in SHIELD with Sharon Carter now in charge and the new Ironheart getting ready to barge into the fray and next issue should be pretty explosive. There was a nice scene from Doom's college days with Reed and Ben that started the book and, as always, the art work is simply breathtaking. I think if they can get this book to last and go the distance they shoudl consider giving Doom Bot from Avengers A.I. his own book in the future. I'd buy it.

JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #3

While Lord Havok presents a unified front to neighboring countries, The JLA is working with the local resistance fighters to take down The Extremists. I did find it interesting that some of the Extremists were taken down with nothing more than words when they realized that they work for a megalomaniac. Havok thinks he has won, but he, like so many people, underestimate Batman. Never do that. It will be bad.

ADAM STRANGE/FUTURE QUEST

The Hanna Barbera books were hit or miss when they came out. I liked them all except for The Flintstones. Future Quest is going to continue with smaller story arcs in the future and Scooby Apocalypse is still going. I miss Wacky Racers...a little.
Now we have some annuals that team up DC with Hanna Barbera so it was a natural fit to put Adam Strange with Future Quest. His Zeta Beam has accidentally deposited him into The Lost Valley. The Quest team goes to see what is happening and they find an amnesiac Adam Strange who is being chased by FEAR they wish to leave the valley for good and he can help them with his Zeta Beam. Sometimes, you should just be happy with what you have, but tell that to Agents of FEAR. There is a back up story with Top Cat coming face to face with Batman. Seems he got caught in a time and space transporter and now all he wants to do is find his friend, Benny. The Adam Strange story was great. Being a huge fan of Future Quest it felt like that only with the added goodness of DC Comics along for the ride. The Top Cat story was a good introduction to what appears to be a series. Yeah, I'm buying that. These crossovers remind me that comic books should be, for the most part, fun. This was fun.
But it wasn't nearly as fun as...

THE BOOK OF THE WEEK!

BANANA SPLITS/SUICIDE SQUAD

I have known about this book since they announced it a while back. I have been waiting since then and to be honest, I read it first. I have also read it twice. This is what I can the perfect comic book. It could be for my love of the super pop group The Banana Splits. They were on Saturday mornings when I was a little kid and I always watched them. The Suicide Squad? Meh, I know who they are, but I haven't regularly read a book of theirs in years. So, the Splits are arrested for being late to their gig at The Whiskey A Go Go and sent to Belle Reve because people think they are meta humans. Meanwhile, Waller's team is down for the count and she can't use any of her traditional back up people without warning the higher ups who would just order to execute. So, The Banana Splits, Fleegle, Bingo, Drooper and Snork are sent in to save the day! And they do, with a vengeance. They also reinvent themselves at the end with a new sound and it is magnificent. For the entire story I could not stop grinning it is awesome. The writing is funny and the art work is magnificent. And, if that couldn't make it any better, the back up story is Snagglepuss who gets drawn into court during the McCarthy era and is expected to answer for his crimes of being a Southern Gothic Playwright. It's just an excuse for some magnificent Snagglepuss dialogue. I read the whole thing in his voice. Peter Potomas and Augie Doggie are along for the ride and, what's that? There's going to be a series? And they are calling it Exit Stage Left; The Snagglepuss Chronicles? I guess they just want all my money. If you buy no other book this years this is the book you need to read.

Well, there you go. You have your orders to go pick up the Banana Splits/ Suicide Squad crossover and anything else you think looks good. Be sure to patronize your local comic book store. The weekly books help them pay the rent. Well, that and the metric ton of MAgic cards that probably go through there on a weekly basis.
Seeya next week!

BONUS VIDEO!

MY LOVE AFFAIR WITH COMIC BOOKS Chapter 8

Another weekly column! Woooo! Kind of a light week for us here at The Waltz Compound. Also, I am not reviewing the new HULK book unless things change in Issue 5. JUst not my cup of tea I'm afraid. With that being said, let's get to the book!

FUTURE QUEST #11

The penultimate issue is here and everyone teams up to fight the Omnikron for the last time. Will they be able to save Earth from this monstrosity or is it too powerful? You'll have to read it for yourself. I can't believe it's been almost a year since this book came out. I will miss it when it's gone. If you haven't read it go pick up the trades. If you even know the name Herculoids or Jonny Quest or Space Ghost then they wrote this love letter to you and it shows.

THE FLASH # 19

Second part of the Flash and Kid Flash down under with Captain Boomerang. I like how Kid Flash's vibrating powers work differently and to a great effect in this book. We are getting set up with a crossover for the next two issues and it looks like it will blow our mind like the original Rebirth book did. I wish there was more of old school Wally West in the book. That would be cool.

BLUE BEETLE #7

Dr. Fate fights for Jamie Reyes' life against the monster that wants the scarab. The reveal is pretty cool. I know him a little, but not as much as others might. It will be interesting to see where it goes from here and J.M. DeMatteis starts next issue! I am so excited. His Dr. Fate books was one of the best out there and really needs to be collected into a volume of it's own. You hear me, DC? Yeah! I'm talking to you.

WONDER WOMAN # 19

She's done with the insane asylum and the big bull fellas name is Ferdinand. I should have guessed that. Anyway, the Godwatch has had enough of Wonder Woman and they do the unthinkable. Not to give too much of this away, but I realize she does the whole bullets and bracelets thing, but I always assumed Wonder Woman is bulletproof. Can't she take a pretty good hit? Guess we will see next issue.

HAL JORDAN AND THE GREEN LANTERN CORP # 17

Guy is recovering from his fight and we learned why he did it alone and with no ring. He needed to show the Yellow Lanterns who the boss was. A little fear for the fear guys. And Kyle  is a Green Lantern again?  UM, okay, that's cool. He was a great Green Lantern.

DOOM PATROL #5

If anything is going to kill this book it will be the time between books. It sure doesn't feel monthly and Gerard Way may have bit off more than he can chew. That being said, the one thing that will save this book is that it's good enough that no one will care about the delay. The team is back! Sort of. It reminded me of old school Doom PAtrol mixed with a little of Morrison's run. The melding of the things we love about Doom Patrol. And Negative Man is back! And rocking some sweet threads. This is a fun book.

THE MISFITS # 3

The Misfits are getting their sound back as the reality show continues. But Blaze has what she thinks is an awful secret. Until she tells anyone and everyone she meets says that is awesome. Her other band is coming together and she can be the lead singer like she always wanted. Being on a popular reality show won't hurt the PR for the new group. This is such a great book with that whole vibe that made Jem and the Holograms such a great book.I remember them saying that this was a mini series. I hope it continues beyond that.

MOON GIRL AND DEVIL DINOSAUR # 17

Luna gets assistance from The X-Men to find a Cerebro that Forge made so she can track down the Doctor Doom that has been bothering her lately. Forge is astonished that she can make Cerebro find anyone, mutant or not and a little side trip to the 80s happens as they fight a shopping mall of Dooms. I love that Luna has embraced that she is the smartest person in existence and a Devil Dinosaur/Wolverine Fastball Special makes the book. It felt like they were going to cancel this book in the next issue. They don't say it, but Marvel never says it.  I hope not.

IRON FIST #1

This is the gritty, Iron Fist has lost his way tale. I realize that it's just a set up first issue, but it shows that Danny is trying to cope with the fact that with K'un Lun destroyed that he may not be Iron Fist anymore. And if he's not Iron Fist then who is he? It reads like a kung fu movie which is all Iron Fist was ever supposed to be. A good start to what can be a great book.

BOOK OF THE WEEK

EXTRAORDINARY X-MEN #20

With the Inhumans VS X-Men over and Earth safe for mutants again, it is time for our team to leave Limbo behind. Yeah, they are starting those new X Books next month so there is no room for what was my favorite X-Book. They are all going home. And what is the perfect capper to a great run of comics? That's right, baseball game. Kind of choked me up a little. Jeff Lemire and Victor Ibanez give us the perfect cap to this book. It's a shame nothing is coming along to replace it.



See, you sniffled a little seeing this, didn't you?

So, another successful weekly column in the bag. It helped getting out of work early yesterday and having today off. A great bunch of books. Remember, go visit your comic shop and find something to read. The 50 cent bin alone is filled with so many magnificent things.

Seeya next week!

MY LOVE AFFAIR WITH COMIC BOOKS Chapter 7

Yeah! Back on track! These are the books we got yesterday. I have always had the problem of plowing right through the new books pretty much the day I get them. Some of them get reread the same week, some go in their respective places and are reread from time to time. This is a pretty good batch of books.
I have one complaint, so we're gonna do that one first.

MONSTERS UNLEASHED! #5

This is the end of the series. They are gearing up for the regular series that will follow the adventures of Kid Kaiju. This whole thing seemed rushed. Last issue they were screwed, but now that Kid Kaiju uses his own original monsters he can save the day? Meh. And the new monsters seemed lackluster at best. I would have rather had a team with OOM and FIN FANG FOOM. Know what I mean? I really doubt that I will be getting the continuing series. Good part. Plenty of cool monster art. I really liked that. The variant cover we got (pictured above) was pretty cool as well. We even bought some of the Monsters Unleashed comic book boxes. Now, can I have action figures? I'd really like if this ended up as action figures.

THE UNCANNY AVENGERS #21

The finale between Deadpool and Rogue and Deadpool has a pretty neat trick up his sleeve that I won't spoil here. Suffice to say it made me smile when he did it. This is the best Avenger book out there. Go read all of them. And I mean Volume 2. Don;t read Volume 1. Nuff said!

AQUAMAN #19

The start of the H2.0 storyline begins here and Aquaman has to go to an island with the Aquamarines who tried to kill him during the war. He's facing off against an old foe, Dead Water, who can teleport from place to place with the smallest bit of water. In the new Rebirth Universe, this is one of the most consistent books out there. I love that Aquaman is one of my favorite books.

COADY AND THE CREEPIES #1

Fresh from the Boom! Box imprint comes the story of a set of triplets who are also a punk rock band. And, just to make it interesting, one of them is a ghost. I remember punk rock and it's nice to see a new comic that recognizes its influences and becomes an interesting thing of it's own. I remember when Boom! put out Jonesy and Giant Days and they were supposed to be limited series. Now they are not and I hope this one follows in their footsteps. Great story awesome art and a punk rock vibe that makes this one of the best all girl band comic books out there. (Currently, there are three.)

GREEN ARROW #19

Yes, Roy Harper is back. Yes, Ollie calls him Speedy and gets punched for it. We see the life and times of Roy Harper, warts, drugs and all and now we are brought to the present where he has found something to fight for and Ollie and Black Canary are along for the ride. We also get a new, trippy version of Count Vertigo. It's in flashback so, you know he'll be showing his face soon. Such a great book.

KONG OF SKULL ISLAND #9

We went and saw the new Kong movie. It was spectacular! This book lends itself to telling us so much about the giant ape we meet in the movie. Now, the queen of Kong Island has to deal with people who believe that what she does is wrong. They don;t think they need Kong to protect them. They are wrong and they are about to attempt a misstep that will probably result in the deaths of a lot of their tribe. But, we have to wait until next issue.

CAVE CARSON AND HIS CYBERNETIC EYE #6

The monster is revealed and unleashed and Carson, his daughter and Wild Dog have to save the day. Sure, they need to take some psychotropic drugs to get the job done, but that's perfectly normal, right? This book is very trippy. Now with the first arc completed I might have to go back and ready them all in one sitting. I still don;t get what is going on in the back up feature. I look at it, but I've stopped trying to read it.

PATSY WALKER A.K.A. HELLCAT! #16

THEY ARE CANCELLING THIS BOOK! This is so very sad. I have not missed an issue. There was an issue where I truly despised the art and I still bought it. This was such a great book and now we might get one more issue. Patsy does learn how to rid herself of the reality altering illness she has that is triggered whenever she sneezes and we learn a little bit more about her true nature in the process. I am so sad they are cancelling this book.

THE GREAT LAKES AVENGERS #6

Bertha is still fighting the madman who has taken her size powers and increased them tenfold. Overdosing on the drug he has become berserk monster attacking the city. Doorman is doing his new job being a grim reaper, only he's not very good at it. Good Boy realizes she can't run from her problems and runs back to the team as the giant mad scientist begins his attack. This book is silly, serious, fun and the art work is so good. The cover is hilarious as well. I hope we get these guys around for a very long time.

BATWOMAN #1

She is back in the Rebirth universe. I will admit that while I know who Batwoman is, I never read her previous book. Heard good thing, never read it. This is a good issue. We get a decent fight along with a hint at her past. Then it throws us in the deep end and tells us to swim.
I'm fine with that.

BOOK OF THE WEEK

I thought instead of reviewing the Book of the Month twice I would just do it once.

Here you go.

U.S.Avengers # 4

Give me a comic book with Squirrel Girl and I will buy it. This particular issue does not have her in it, but we do get Deadpool and Red Hulk versus American Kaiju. I think American Kaiju is hilarious. Plus it is divided into four different comic books with four different covers within the issue that does a chapter of the story. It felt like the spirit of Steve Gerber was there and it made me smile this is one of the new books that Marvel is doing right by. A truly great issue and our Book of the Week.

A pretty good week. That one complaint doesn't really ruin things. I wish I could have found a better picture of that cover. The variant with the cool Fin Fang Foom cover is pretty cool. Has a sweet underground vibe to it.

See you next week.

MY LOVE AFFAIR WITH COMIC BOOKS Chapter 6

Yeah, yeah, I know. I said weekly. We've been every week on Wednesday like clockwork. Just lazy I guess. Ready for the lightning round? Here we gooooooooo!

AQUAMAN #18

Time to fight Warhead. Well, maybe not. Aquaman shows why he might be the most intelligent super hero out there. He knows not to lead with his fists. Especially, when he finds out what Warhead is really up to. This continues to be one of my favorite Rebirth books out there.

BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINE/ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK #6

Yup, it's over. Yes, it ended magnificently. Yes, I want another one. Yes, there could be one. This is how I remember mini series from my youth. Get in there, tell the story and get it done with. Great book.

MONSTERS UNLEASHED #4

We have monsters fighting other monsters who have teamed up with the world's heroes to save the day. But, only Kid Kaiju can save everyone and he is in over his head. One more issue before we go into the series. May it have a long and fruitful life as a continuing series.

DOCTOR WHO 9 #10

Yeah, it looks confusing, but it does deal with the ninth Doctor so the 9 makes sense. They are finishing up stuff in 17th century Brazil and Captain Jack learns a little more about his missing past. When they brought this series back to life, Eccelston was my favorite of the new Doctors. A sense of humor with a simmering anger just beneath the surface. They manage to balance that out here and with it being a comic book, the special effects are pretty easy.

GREEN ARROW #18

The Return of Roy Harper starts here. This is going to be great and we get a nice lead in to the chaos starting up in the next issue. It reminded me of the old Green Arrow/Green Lantern days. Another great Rebirth book

THE UNBEATABLE SQUIRREL GIRL #18

Doreen finds out that her benefactor is bad news and her new suit pays the ultimate price. Now I want an issue of nothing but Alfredo the Chicken and Chef Bear. One page is not enough.

POWER MAN AND IRON FIST #14
I heard it through the grapevine that this book is getting cancelled in the near future. I think this is a terrible mistake. The war in Harlem is heating up and the machinations of Street Magician, Alex, is coming to a head as his new drug grips the city in insanity.  This book never fails to get me excited for what is coming next. It realizes that Danny and Luke are more brothers than partners. They have known each other for a long time and this has been a wonderful run of their adventures together.

BAT GIRL AND THE BIRDS OF PREY #8

Nightwing is in Batgirl's turf and the person he's fighting is wicked strong with bizarre powers. The ladies come to save the day and stitch Nightwing up. There is some silly flirting and Canary goes undercover to find out what is happening to the meta humans. This is still the only Bat-Family book I buy and it is such a great book.

THE FLASH #18

Wally West, post Flashpoint discovers that his father is Reverse Zoom and when he goes to visit in Iron Heights he discovers that he has been transferred to Belle Reve under the jurisdiction of Amanda Waller. This is the Waller I remember and the speedy duo head to Australia to find Captain Boomerang. That may have been a bad idea. This book continues to behave like a new book with the soul of the classic Flash books of the 70s. DC has been my go to for super hero tales like they are meant to be.

HAL JORDAN AND THE GREEN LANTERN CORPS #16

Guy Gardner is hunting down a rogue Yellow Lantern, Arkillo. And he isn't using his power ring. Of course, neither is Arkillo, but he's a friggin monster. We also get a little behind the scenes that explains why Guy is the way that Guy is. A great story.

JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #2

Lord Havok has found this world's version of his homeland and their king has died so, he takes the land and promises them prosperity and peace. How are the new Justice League supposed to fight a sovereign nation? I'm sure they will think of something. I haven't bought a League book in a very long time and it's nice to get such a diverse, unusual team for a change. Good stuff.

WONDER WOMAN #18

The Godwatch story is fascinating to read. More Vertigo feel than DC Comic feel. It deals with the organization that is trying to find Wonder Woman's homeland and how it all got started. This is a prime example of great storytelling, epic art and a wonder on how it will all end without it being really bad.

SCOOBY APOCALYPSE #11

The gang is looking for Velma. Scooby shows that he is the best dog in the world and the team is starting to feel like the classic team from the old cartoon days. The back up feature slaps President Trump right in the face and will get away with it because we know that no one in his administration reads comic books. I hope this Hanna Barbera off shoot lasts for a very long time.

JONESY #11

Ah, Jonesy. Doesn't every 54 year old man read the awesome adventures of a young girl with super special love powers? No, then you might want to. We get an explanation of what went wrong back home in the form of a zine and it is magnificent. Being a zine guy from back in the day, this is a pretty cool zine disguised as a comic book. Now it is time for Jonesy to face the music. That'll be next issue. Pick this book up.

JOSIE AND THE PUSSYCATS #5

Josie and the Pussycats are playing a county fair, but they get upstaged by a little girl who is the opening act and has the voice of an angel. Josie knows she can't really be that young, but she discovers that a lot of people are as driven to succeed as she is. They come in all shapes, sizes and ages. Also, I think Melody has become aware that she's in a comic book. Audrey Mok's artwork is killing it.

BOOK OF THE COLUMN???

I know I said Weekly, but then I procrastinated. So, anyway the book would have to be...

JONESY!



I have every issue of this thing and Sam Humphries never ceases to amaze me. The zine look for this issue makes it the best of the best of ... well, the books I bought. Go read it already. You can thank me later. If it doesn't look like your cup of tea, read a different comic book. And, remember all comments are welcome.

One last thing. I have read three issues of HULK. I'm on the fence and not sure how I feel about the book. Here's the cover to issue 1;